Two For One
by SuperbBirb
Summary: Yang wants to surprise Ruby with a cat for her 20th birthday. An online ad leads her to the leading cat shelter in vale: Belladonna's Cat Rescue. Hybrid real world/Remnant AU. No hunters, no Grimm, half fluff/half angst.
1. Chapter 1

" _Take the next left onto Menagerie Avenue. In a quarter mile, your destination will be on your right."_

Yang Xiao Long peered down the street as she turned onto Menagerie Avenue, the main downtown road in the Faunus District of the city of Vale. Her bright yellow motorcycle, Bumblebee, felt out of place here, surrounded by mostly run-down looking shops and very few cars younger than five years old.

The traffic on Menagerie Avenue was rather steady as she merged into the right lane. Not quite a standstill, but enough to give Yang time to look at all of the signs for the shops on the right side of the road, and observe the storefronts a bit more carefully than just searching for the name of her destination.

 _Tukson's Book Trade…_

Yang would have to mention that one to Ruby. They might have some textbooks there for cheap. She'd seen an ad online for that shop when searching for her current destination. They'd advertised for _every book under the sun_ , and she'd had to hope that included some textbooks. It had to be _way_ cheaper than the University of Vale bookstore, and both of the sisters knew they could always find places to save some money.

 _Menagerie Grocers…_

That had to be, hands down, the _smallest_ grocery store that Yang had ever seen. It was probably a Faunus specialty store, considering she _was_ in the Faunus District of Vale. Most of the grocery stores that she had been in growing up had abysmally small Faunus sections, with very overpriced brands.

 _Custom Faunus Attire…_

A clothing shop. Nothing special, in Yang's eyes. It was common knowledge that many Faunus with tails, wings, and other similar features, couldn't shop for clothes outside of the Faunus District. Most shops, and most clothes, outside of this district, were designed for humans, and had no options for spare holes, extra fabric sleeves, or anything else of the sort. A shop like that was pretty standard for Menagerie Avenue.

 _Scarlatina Computer Repair..._

A seemingly standard computer repair shop. Yang observed the largest sign in the window- _Faunus Welcome!_ A sharp pain struck Yang's heart, reminding her of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the city of Vale, _her_ hometown. Racism was rampant, and outside of the Faunus District, most shops would kick a Faunus straight out if they even attempted to shop there.

"Ah!" Yang exclaimed audibly to no one but herself as her eyes landed on the plaza sign just beyond the computer repair shop. She read the signs as she approached, reading down the sign.

The top part of the sign named the plaza: _Kuana Plaza and Apartments_. There were two empty slots on the sign, one at the top, and one halfway down the list of shops: _Slither n' Swim: Pool Supplies and More, Carl's Cigar Center, Full Circle Pizzeria,_ and all the way at the bottom, the sign that had caught Yang's attention, _Belladonna's Cat Rescue_. Dangling from chains underneath the sign for the cat rescue was a handmade sign that read, _Commercial Space for Lease, Apartments for Rent_. A scroll number was prominently displayed beneath those words.

Yang pulled her bike into a parking spot in front of the main window to Belladonna's Cat Rescue. She had to admire the storefront- the window was covered in cat themed decals, and a few actual cats slumbering in cat trees and beds in the windowsill.

She pulled her helmet off her head, tucking it under her arm. Yang shuddered at the sound of light scraping of metal on metal. Glancing down, she grimaced at the helmet underneath her metal arm. She closed her eyes, shook her head slightly, took a long, deep breath, and opened her eyes and began walking away from her bike, tightening her grip on her helmet.

 _Not today, Yang. Not today. Today is supposed to be a good day,_ she reminded herself, holding her head up high as she approached the front door to Belladonna's Cat Rescue.

* * *

 _Ding!_

Blake Belladonna jumped at the sound of the bell attached to the door, slamming her head on the underside of the countertop.

" _Oum dammit,_ " she muttered, just a bit too loud, rubbing the top of her head and her right cat ear, which had hit the counter.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked, approaching the counter as Blake slowly stood up.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Yes, I'm fine," she replied, turning to face Yang.

"No need to apologize," Yang said with a smile, placing her bike helmet gently on the counter.

Blake's eyes gravitated towards the bright yellow arm that had just placed the equally bright yellow helmet on the counter.

 _Is that… a robot arm?_

She blinked, shaking herself back into reality, still rubbing the top of her head.

"Sorry," Blake quickly apologized, blushing slightly at being caught staring. "I'm a little frazzled from that."

"You sure you're okay?" Yang asked again.

Blake stopped rubbing her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just start this over." She spun on her heel, taking a deep breath before turning back around again to face Yang. She folded her hands behind her back, rolling forward on her heels with a wide smile. "Welcome to Belladonna's Cat Rescue! My name is Blake, how can I help you?"

Yang smiled back. "Hiya Blake, I'm Yang, and I'm interested in getting a cat."

"Well, you've come to the right place!" Blake gestured around the room. "Currently, we have about 20 different rescues here, each with their own distinct personality. Why do you want a cat?"

"Well," Yang began, "it's more for my little sister, Ruby, than it is for me. The two of us have been through a lot in the last two years, and her birthday is coming up in about a week and a half. She's been talking about wanting a cat for years, and we had planned to get one for her 18th birthday, but then our lives got turned upside down for a little while. Now our lives are steady enough again to finally give her that gift, just two years later."

Blake couldn't help but notice Yang rubbing her robot arm with her left hand. She didn't exactly need Yang to spell out the specifics to fill in the blanks. She gave a small nod. "So she's turning 20, then?"

Yang nodded, lowering her left arm.

"And how old are you?"

"22."

"And you live together?"

Yang nodded. "Just the two of us, in an apartment in the University District."

"Are you two students?"

"Ruby is." Yang began rubbing her right arm again. "I'm employed."

Blake nodded, glancing down at the lower desk that sat behind the countertop.

"The way we do things here, is we have you fill out an application, give a verbal interview, and do an in-home visit to make sure that you're a suitable adoption candidate. Then we take that information to also match you with a cat that we think matches your personality, but also a cat you're interested in," she explained as she shuffled through a folder, finally pulling out a packet titled _Belladonna's Cat Rescue Adoption Application_.

Yang blinked. "Wow, okay. That's a lot more in-depth than I thought."

Blake nodded. "In twenty-five years, we've only ever had two returns. One, because the adoptee got into an accident a week after adopting and couldn't keep the cat anymore, and the other because the company he worked for went under a month later and he got transferred to a Mistral branch and couldn't bring the cat with him. We've successfully placed over five hundred cats in good homes."

" _Wow_ ," Yang replied, her mouth gaping slightly open. "Seems like you've really mastered the process then!"

"My parents have been in the business of saving and rehoming cats for a _long_ time. Longer than I've been alive. They've got it down to a science."

"Impressive." Yang looked down at the application that had been handed to her, skimming through it with her right hand, glancing over all of the questions. "Do you have a pen?" she asked, looking up at Blake.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Blake fumbled around behind the counter, eventually pulling out a cup of pens. "Sorry, one of the kitties puked back here this morning, and I was finishing up cleanup when you got here, so I'm a bit disorganized right now."

"Not a problem!" Yang replied with a smile, pulling out a pen from the cup and starting away at the top of the application.

"I'll leave you to finish filling that out. There are some seats over there," Blake gestured to a group of chairs around a coffee table. An all black cat was curled up on the middle of the table in a small red cat bed, completely oblivious to the conversation happening just ten feet away. "That's Mezzaluna. If she wakes up from her midday nap, she'll come begging you for pets and attention."

"That's so sweet." Yang smiled at the sleeping cat. "Do you have a clipboard? The table is kind of low."

"Oh, yeah, of course." Blake fumbled behind the desk yet again, finally pulling out a clipboard and handing it to Yang. "I'll be in the back cleaning up some litter, just push open that door and call for me whenever you're done."

Yang nodded, clipping the packet on the clipboard and taking a seat in a chair next to the coffee table.

 _Name: Yang Xiao Long…_

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Yang poked her head through the door labeled _Employees Only_.

"Blake? I'm done with the application."

"Coming!" Blake replied, standing up from what looked like to Yang to be the world's _biggest_ litter box. A trash bag sat next to where Blake had been crouching, the scooper she had been using laid next to it.

"That's a _lot_ of litter," Yang said in a low whistle.

"Twenty cats means a kiddie sandbox full of litter," Blake replied with a chuckle, squeezing some hand sanitizer onto her hands before taking the clipboard and packet from Yang. She gave a quick skim through, checking to make sure that all of the questions had been answered. "Alright, looks good."

"So what's the process looking like from here? On your end as well as mine," Yang asked.

"Well," Blake said, unclipping the packet and placing it on the desk behind the counter. "When my parents return to the shop, we'll go over your application as a group. The conversation we had before you filled out the application counts as your verbal interview. If we have any further questions or clarifications, we'll give you a call. If you pass that stage, we'll arrange a time and date for an in-home visit. Given that you pass that, you'll come back here, we'll do a personality assessment, and introduce you to a handful of cats that we think will work best for you and your sister. Ideally, you'd go home with the cat that day, so that's as far as we can keep it a surprise from your sister."

Yang nodded with a smile, scooping up her helmet under her left arm and holding out her right hand for a handshake. "Thank you so much, Blake! It was nice to meet you!"

"It was nice to meet you too," Blake replied with a warm smile as she shook Yang's outstretched hand. "We'll be in touch."

Blake watched from the counter as Yang headed out the front door, the familiar _ding_ of the bell sounding as the door opened and closed again. She found her eyes gravitating towards the yellow arm once again.

It had been surprisingly warm.

* * *

The ride back to the apartment did not take very long. Once Yang crossed the border between the Faunus District and the University District, she no longer needed directions. A few turns later, and she found herself pulling into the parking lot for her apartment.

It was a sad, yet simple fact, that in Vale, the closer you were to the Faunus District, the cheaper the property got. They were able to rent this two bedroom apartment for half of what they would have paid closer to the University of Vale, and an quarter of anything of similar size in the Residential District.

Yang swiped her card at the back door, gaining access to the building. She made a brief stop at the mailboxes, pulling out a few pieces of paper mail from their mailbox, and a small key, informing her a package had been delivered.

She rose an eyebrow at the key in her hand. She had no clue what that could even be. Ruby must have ordered something without telling her- which was even weirder. As she walked towards the lockers for the packages, she shuffled through the other paper mail- _spam, spam, bill, bill, spam… a card from Uncle Qrow, for Ruby_.

Yang's thumb rested on the name in the return address for a few moments before put the card in the back of the pile. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she walked right into the locker, the sound of her arm clicking against the metal locker door jarring her more than the force of walking into a wall.

She grimaced, shoving the key into the locker as fast as she could. The door swung open, revealing a box that was covered in writing and drawings.

 _DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOUR BIRTHDAY! FOR RUBY'S EYES ONLY! LOCKED UNTIL OCTOBER 31ST!_

Yang gave a small smile at the familiar writing. The return address on the package confirmed to her that it was Penny Polendina, Ruby's best friend from high school who had gone off to Atlas University. Despite not having seen her in over two years, the two girls were still extremely close friends, and talked on their scrolls all the time. The two had sent back and forth packages for birthdays and Christmas ever since Penny had left, and Yang had even helped prepare and decorate a few of those packages.

She rearranged the things in her hands so that she could carry the package, mail, and her helmet up to the apartment before closing the locker door. A short elevator ride and a long walk down a hallway later, Yang found herself in front of the apartment she shared with Ruby, labeled with the number 636.

Performing a quick balancing act, Yang shoved her key in the lock, turning the key as she pushed open the door in one motion. She pushed against the right wall, allowing her shoulder to flick on the light switch.

The apartment, as expected, was rather empty. Ruby was still at school, but even their furniture was still rather sparse. The living room had a single futon, a tiny TV stand, and a relatively average sized television. To the right, a small circular table with two chairs sat next to the tiny kitchenette, which could barely hold more than one person at a time in it.

Yang dropped the package and the mail onto the kitchen table before turning back towards the tiny entrance hall before the living room. She hung her helmet on two hooks next to the door, before sliding off her cropped jacket and hanging it on one of the remaining two hooks.

She stretched her hands above her head, letting out a huge yawn. It was her first day off in a few weeks, and she couldn't wait to just sit down on the couch, have a cold drink, and watch some TV until Ruby got home…

 _Ring ring ring! Ring ring ring!_

Yang's fantasy was cut short by the sound of her scroll ringing in her pocket. She pulled it out to see the name of her manager at the diner.

She stared at it for a few moments, letting out a low groan. After a brief mental debate of if she wanted to work tonight or not, Yang answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey Yang, it's Paul. We just got two sick calls, and we're short staffed. Can you come in and cover the dinner shift?"

"Yeah," Yang replied, pulling her jacket back off the hook. "I'll be there in fifteen."

"See you soon," Paul said before the line cut off.

Yang let out a long sigh, walking towards her bedroom to the left. She pulled the black apron from her closet, folding it into her backpack that sat at the foot of her bed. After swapping out her boots for her waitressing sneakers, she pulled her scroll back out and sent a text to her sister.

 _Got called in at the diner. Be home after 10pm._

There was a swift reply from Ruby.

 _But you have a shift at the coffee shop at 5am tomorrow, and it's your day off!_

 _Money is money, Rubes. I'll survive._

And with that, Yang shoved her scroll back into her pocket, stood up from the bed, swung the backpack over her shoulder, and grabbed her helmet at the door before heading off to work.


	2. Chapter 2

As far as apartments went, Blake couldn't exactly complain about hers. The two bedroom, one bathroom apartment was located directly above their cat rescue, which her father constantly reminded her was not a shop, despite the ease in calling the physical space that. The living room was connected to the kitchenette by an open archway, giving the space a feeling of more room than it actually had. All the same, it had been home for Blake since birth. The apartment was not only convenient, but it was also home to the four "foster fails" that the Belladonnas had acquired over the years.

First, there was Gambol and Shroud, two sister black cats that Blake had fallen in love with when they were kittens. As far as anyone was concerned, including Gambol and Shroud, they were Blake's cats, and Blake was their person. Not a moment went by in the apartment in which there wasn't one of the duo following at Blake's feet, riding on her shoulder, or sprawled out in her lap.

The third cat that inhabited the Belladonnas' apartment belonged to Kali. Sienna, a gorgeous bengal cat, acted like the queen of the house. She took no nonsense from Gambol nor Shroud, who despite being three years old each, still acted like they were kittens.

The final cat was Ghira's, a giant Maine Coon named Chief. Chief was larger than the other three cats combined, and acted tough around pretty much any cat he'd ever met. He had a habit of fighting other male cats, but they'd successfully kept him around only female cats for years. Chief also did not put up with the childish gimmicks of Gambol and Shroud, but would do anything for Sienna, who the Belladonnas jokingly called his queen.

Blake always found the comparison between the cats of the family and her actual family amusing. It was a common saying that cats mimicked their people, and people mimicked their cats, but the parallels between Sienna, Chief, Kali, and Ghira, was simply _too_ much.

It had often crossed Blake's mind that perhaps they all mimicked each other so much because they were all cat Faunus. It was never a question she would ask out loud, knowing all too well what the implications of that question were, but she would be lying if the thought did not have at least a _bit_ of weight in her mind. There was absolutely _nothing_ better than to pet both of her kitties at the same time, while they lay on her, kneading her chest, and the three of them, including Blake, purred together.

"Blake!" Kali called from the front door, pulling Blake out of her thoughts. "We're home."

Blake nodded towards the door as her parents entered, Gambol curled up on her lap, purring away as Blake scratched behind her ears. "Hey," she replied. "How did the rescue go?"

"Two new cats," Ghira said with a sigh, hanging up his coat near the door. "One more than expected. They look identical, so we think they're sisters. They're spending the night overnight at the vet for their spaying before we bring them downstairs tomorrow." He knelt down, as Chief had approached him to welcome him home.

"Twenty-two cats then?" Blake asked.

Kali nodded. "For now. We still have room for three more, but I'd rather not push it for the time being."

"We had a prospective adoptee today," Blake told her, pointing at a packet sitting on the kitchen table with her free hand, her right arm still occupied by a purring Gambol.

"Oh?" Ghira stood back up, much to the annoyance of Chief, who was enjoying his head scritches. He walked over to the table, and picked up the packet. "Yang Xiao Long," he read out loud. "Online, or in person?"

"In person," Blake replied.

"Did you do her interview?" Kali asked.

Blake nodded. "She seems pretty good. She's looking to get a cat for her younger sister as a surprise birthday present, but her younger sister has been talking about and planning for a cat for at least two years."

"How old is the sister?" Ghira flipped to the next page of the packet.

"She turns 20 at the end of the month."

Kali took a seat at the kitchen table, holding out her hand for the packet. Ghira, despite not being done, handed it off immediately to her.

"Beacon Drive," she read from the first page. "That's in the University District, yeah?"

Blake nodded. "Ruby, her sister, is a student, but Yang works."

"Full time?" Ghira asked.

"I didn't ask," Blake replied, frowning at the ground. "I forgot about that one."

"You forgot?" Kali raised an eyebrow at her daughter.

"I was a little frazzled," she explained, reaching up to rub the top of her head again. "I found cat puke behind the counter when I came down to open up this morning, and I was finishing up cleaning it when Yang got to the shop. The bell scared me, and I hit my head on the underside of the counter."

Kali jumped up from her seat, immediately darting over to her daughter, leaving the packet behind on the table. "Oh, Blakey, are you okay?" She began to fuss at once, checking her ears and the top of her head for bumps or cuts.

"Mom, I'm _fine_ ," Blake insisted. Gambol leapt out of her lap, alarmed by Kali's sudden movements. "You scared off Gambol," she huffed.

"Oh, like her and Shroud won't be wrapped around your feet in five minutes anyways." Kali took a few more moments to continue inspecting Blake's head, before she considered it free of any marks of harm.

Blake stood up, crossing her arms with a huff. Kali smirked at her daughter, some of her habits never dying, despite now being a full adult of 22 years old.

"Hmm," Ghira audibly hummed, flicking through the packet more. "I don't know, Blake. I'm not sure if this will end up with a return or not. We generally don't do surprise gifts."

"Did she say what stopped them from getting a cat for two years?" Kali asked.

"She didn't exactly specify, but…" Blake shifted her weight uncomfortably, looking down at her feet. "Her right arm was made of metal. I think she was in some sort of accident. She was rubbing it a lot when she was talking about two years ago."

"Made of metal?" Ghira looked up at his daughter, eyes wide. "Do you mean?"

"A robot prosthetic."

"An _Atlas_ robot prosthetic?"

"I don't know," Blake shrugged. "I didn't ask. I was trying not to be rude and stare or ask irrelevant questions."

"Blake," Ghira said softly, placing the packet down. "Was she human?"

Blake furrowed her brow. "Yes, why?"

"If it was a prosthetic from Atlas…"

Blake shook her head. "I don't think she would have come all the way out to the Faunus District if she's from Atlas. There's other shelters in Vale, in the Downtown District. Not as close as we are to her address, but if she was really a racist, she would have made the extra trek the moment she saw Menagerie Avenue."

Ghira's face was grim, not seeming to be convinced by his daughter's reasoning.

" _Ghir_ ," Kali sighed, placing her hands on her husband's arm, "let's not jump to conclusions. Blake has a point."

Blake looked up at her parents, who were sharing a moment of locked eye contact. Silent conversation, an argument illustrated through their eyes and eyebrows. These exchanges usually happened after Kali used her pet name for her husband, which only came after a romantic exchange (to Blake's embarrassment) or a disagreement that had not quite escalated to an argument. Finally, after Kali's eyes narrowed into a glare, Ghira let out a long sigh.

"Alright, alright, I'll give the application a thorough and _unbiased_ look."

"Thank you," Blake said with a small smile and a nod.

"I'll go through it too," Kali nodded, picking the packet up off the table. "Do you already have a vote?" she asked, turning to face her daughter.

"I'd vote yes. She seemed like a good, responsible person."

Kali took a seat down at the table, only to be greeted by Sienna finally making her grand appearance, leaping onto the table and sashaying her way towards Kali. "Oh, hello there, my little queen," Kali chirped, offering out a hand and a warm smile.

Siena made a quiet _mrrp_ sound as she pressed her forehead into Kali's outstretched hand, demanding to be pet.

Ghira took his spot across the table from Kali. Chief circled at his feet twice before leaping onto the table himself. He trotted towards Sienna, who gave him a single look of narrowed eyes before he leapt back into Ghira's lap at once. Sienna returned her attention to Kali, who was reading the application as she scratched Sienna's chin.

Blake shook her head and chuckled lightly at the sight of her parents and their cats. They were just _too_ much alike.

* * *

Yang shoved the keys into the lock and turned. She pushed the front door of the apartment open with her shoulder, letting out a long sigh as she entered the room.

"Hey Yang," Ruby called from the living room, curled up on the couch under a big red blanket. "How was work?"

"Same old. Decent rush. Made decent tips," Yang said as she hung up her helmet and her coat.

"That's good."

Yang looked over at her sister, who was staring down at the floor, ignoring the TV that hummed quietly with whatever program was on. "Everything okay?"

"You saw the mail, right?"

Yang dropped her backpack on the floor and came and sat next to her sister on the couch. She knew exactly where this conversation was going, and had been dreading it since she'd seen Qrow's birthday card. "Yeah, I did."

"He still doesn't know. That's still a pre-written card," Ruby said softly, still not looking up from the ground.

"I know," Yang said with a sigh, wrapping her arm around Ruby, who leaned into the hug.

"It's been two years and he still doesn't know," Ruby repeated, her voice shaking slightly.

"Hey, hey," Yang said gently, pushing up her sister's chin with her hand. "His contract is for a maximum of three years. He'll be home again by your next birthday."

"But home isn't the same anymore," Ruby whispered, avoiding eye contact.

Yang noticed the glistening tears in Ruby's eyes. She pulled her sister closer, wrapping her in a tight hug. "I know. But we'll make do. He'll make do. You and I both know he's adapted before, and he'll do it again."

"When it was Mom, he had Dad. Now he doesn't…" Ruby's voice cracked as words turned into sobs, leaving Yang to fill in the blanks.

"He has us now, Rubes. We were little then. He needed to be there for us. This time we're adults. Now we get to be here for him. We got through it together, and we can help him through it too." Yang rubbed her sister's back, gently, and in large circles. She began to sing, very quietly, a song that their mother used to sing to them when they were both little.

Once Yang finished the song, Ruby wiped her eyes and sat back up. She smiled softly at her older sister. "Thank you."

"Of course, Rubes. That's what big sisters are for." Yang returned the soft smile.

"You should go to bed," Ruby said, glancing down at her watch. "It's almost quarter of."

"You sure you're okay?"

Ruby nodded. "I'm better now. I'll head off to bed soon too."

Yang gave her sister another hug before standing up, grabbing her bag from near the door, and walking off into her bedroom. The moment she crawled into bed and her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

* * *

Blake shut her book, having just finished it. It was always bittersweet to her, whenever a good story came to a close. It was the last in a trilogy she had really come to like, and she was sad to see it go, but glad with how the story had ended.

"Blake," Ghira called from the kitchen table. "We've finished the application."

Blake leapt up from her seat, stretching out her back by pushing her hands above her head and giving out a long yawn. She'd known this conversation was coming for a while. She hadn't had to block out the hushed whispering conversation for the last chapter of the book, telling her their debate had wrapped up not too long ago. "Coming!" she called back, in a half yawn.

"Someone sounds tired," Kali teased as Blake crossed the archway between the kitchenette and the living room.

"Long day, and another long day tomorrow," Blake replied, sitting down in her chair at the table. "So, what's the verdict?"

"We already know your vote, which is a yes to pass her through to the in-home visit," Kali began. "After reviewing her application, I voted the same way."

"I'm still a bit hesitant," Ghira admitted. Blake opened her mouth to speak, but her father held up his hand. "Let me finish. I'm hesitant, but only because we're missing information we would have gotten in the verbal interview, had you not hit your head. I'm not hesitant because of the origins of her arm."

" _Possible_ origins of her arm," Kali corrected.

"Kali, come on. I mean, how many robotic prosthetics do you see outside of Atlas?" Ghira asked.

Blake smirked. "Well, I saw one earlier today, right here in Vale."

Ghira sighed, shaking his head, smiling slightly at his daughter's clever response. She was _his_ daughter, after all. "We've got to go back to the vet tomorrow to handle the new rescues. I know you've got class in the morning, but could you give Yang a ring sometime, and ask her the rest of these questions?" He slid his daughter a piece of paper that had been ripped out of a notebook, with a handful of questions scribbled on it in her father's familiar handwriting.

She picked up the paper, and scanned the questions quickly. "Yeah, I can do that. I'll head in a little early and go get some coffee and make the call from the coffee shop."

"Excellent," Ghira replied, clapping his hands together. "Take notes, and we'll review them as a family tomorrow evening, and make the final choice then."

Blake nodded, folding up the piece of paper and sliding it into the back of her phone case. "If that's all, I'm going to head off to bed."

There was a collective exchange of "good night"s, before Blake departed down the hall to her little bedroom. She found both Gambol and Shroud already curled up near her pillows, already fast asleep.

Shroud woke up the moment Blake touched the blankets. With a soft "Meow!", she woke up Gambol too.

Blake climbed into bed, her cats adjusting and curling up so that Shroud was asleep next to her head, and Gambol curled up on top of her stomach. She became quickly surrounded by purrs, sweet blissful purrs that eventually turned into her own as the trio drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The late mornings at Scholar's Coffee Shop was always absolutely the busiest point of the day. Yang hardly found enough time to breathe, let alone take even so much as a moment to observe the shop beyond the fact that the line was growing. It was at that perfect time of the day where everyone was usually out and about, either at class or at work, and the majority of students at both the University of Vale and Vale Community College tried to avoid the _super_ early morning classes if possible. By 9 or 10am, the crowds would start to flow in, but by 11, they were at their peak.

It wasn't anything Yang couldn't handle. She'd done this a hundred times before. There was a reason why the shop paid so well, even for part-time employees like herself. The shop had the _perfect_ location between the two colleges of the University District, and it made damn good coffee at that. It rivaled even that of the local chains, but she'd even heard horror stories of how much _worse_ the lines were at the chains on the UV campus from Ruby. She thanked her lucky stars everyday she'd landed the job at Scholar's Coffee, and not the chains that pumped exhausted workers through a revolving door like children who had just had their first ever interaction with a revolving door.

Yang looked up, still wrapped up in her own exhaustion, from the computer to take the next order. She had _meant_ to give her standard greeting, but instead, was rendered completely speechless when none other than Blake Belladonna appeared directly in front of her.

"Hi, Yang," Blake said with a soft smile. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Oh, hi! Sorry, I didn't expect to see you here," Yang replied, trying to recover from her sheer moment of shock. She'd never seen Blake here before. Then again, would she even have noticed someone she'd never met before?

Yang would have had to have noticed. Blake was _far_ too pretty for that.

Did she just think that?

But Yang _should_ have noticed. It was rare that a Faunus were to come in here. Surely, if she had at some other point, there would have been whisperings from some of the other customers, and Yang would have had to go get her manager, who would have kicked the racists out.

Yang glanced up for a moment to the stunned surprise that Blake's cat ears were _covered_ with a _bow_. They were completely still, as if a hair bow simply sat atop her head, with no indication of the ears that lay underneath.

Blake let out a small laugh, causing a smile to come to Yang's face instinctively, breaking her train of thought. "It's okay. Can I get a medium pumpkin spice latte?" she asked.

"Coming right up!" Yang exclaimed with a new wave of energy, punching it into the computer.

Blake handed her a handful of lien, significantly more than her order was worth. When Yang handed her back the change, Blake immediately dropped it into the tips cup with a smile.

"Thanks!" Yang's smile had not faded since Blake had laughed.

"Hey, I know you're busy, so I'll keep this brief. Do you have a break coming up?" Blake asked quickly and quietly.

"Uh, yeah, in about twenty minutes, why?"

"I came out early to actually call you and chat about your application- since I already ran into you, we could talk in person on your break instead, if that's okay?"

Blake flushed nervously. She didn't know _why_. This was just another business conversation, about cats.

Then why was Yang's goofy grin _so_ -

"Yeah, of course! I'll come find your table when I go on break."

"Great, thanks," Blake said with a smile. "See you then!"

Yang didn't even fully get in her goodbye before Blake had headed off to the other end of the shop, where the other baristas working read out the names on the cups. Looking down, she realized she hadn't put Blake's cup down in the line yet, sharpie still in hand. She added a small smiley face to the end of Blake's name before putting it down for another barista to collect.

She was sure Blake would appreciate that.

"Next in line!"

* * *

After what felt like the longest twenty minutes of her life, despite the never-ending line, Yang was relieved by a coworker to go on break. She darted to the back room, hanging up her apron on a hook before clocking out. She darted over to the fridge, pulled out her packed lunch, and slipped out through the other door to enter the shop.

Her eyes scanned the tops of the heads of everyone at tables. Normally, she would have eaten in the staff room, but today was different. Wading through the crowd of people waiting for their drinks, she eventually spotted Blake on the other side of the shop, sitting at a table alone with her latte and her laptop open.

Blake looked up, spotted Yang, and gave a small smile and wave. Yang wove in and out of people, with plenty of "' _cuse me_ "s and " _pardon me_ "s exchanged on the way there.

Finally, Yang sat down at the empty seat and let out a long sigh. She held up a finger for a moment, and then pulled out her scroll.

"Sorry," Yang muttered, out of breath. "I have to… set a timer… for my break…"

"No worries!" Blake assured her, waiting until Yang had set the alarm and flipped the scroll upside down on the table.

"So," Yang said, unwrapping her sandwich. "I hope you don't mind if I eat while we talk, this is my lunch break today too."

Blake blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Yang wove her hand in the air, cutting her off before putting her hand in front of her mouth so she could respond while she chewed, without having to be rude to Blake. "Seriously, don't worry about it. I wouldn't have had much time for a phone call anyways."

Blake nodded, pulling out the piece of paper her father had given her last night. "I didn't get to do the _proper_ verbal interview when you were at the rescue yesterday, because I hit my head and was a little frazzled, so I have a couple more questions we generally like to ask people as part of that. I'm also going to be taking notes on my laptop, so don't mind me typing."

Yang nodded in return, her hand still in front of her mouth. "Go for it."

Glancing down at the paper, Blake tried to paraphrase and make it seem less awkward, and more like a conversation.

"So you work full time?"

Yang nodded, chewing a fresh new bite.

Blake moved onto the next question without needing further explanation. She'd seen her here, working, _right now_ , after all. "Does your sister work?"

"Part-time," Yang said, swallowing her bite and lowering her hand. "She works for the IT department at the University of Vale, on top of being a student. Usually she's still home in time for dinner though. She's got a more 9-5 schedule than I do." Yang gave a small laugh before biting her sandwich again. She was almost halfway done.

"On that, how much time do you and your sister spend at home?"

"Her more than me. I work a lot, but it'd be her cat after all. My schedule varies, but hers is pretty consistent. She's gone by 8:30 or 9 most mornings, and back by 5 or 6pm, unless it's finals week. Then that's more like, midnight, but that's finals week for an engineering student for you. Or any student, really."

"Ruby's studying engineering?" Blake asked.

Yang nodded. "Mechanical engineering. She wants to make arms like mine." Yang flashed a toothy grin as she held up her bright yellow arm before going in for another bite of her sandwich.

Blake nodded and smiled before looking back down at the list. "Do you think you two would be financially capable of supporting the cat?" After she looked up from the list, she saw the slightly stunned look in Yang's eyes and had a slight moment of panic herself. "I didn't mean that in any accusatory way or anything. That's a standard question… that I missed last time." She looked back down, not wanting to make eye contact.

Yang shook her head quickly, bringing herself back to reality. "No, no, it's okay. That's a totally valid question. Yes, we'd be more than capable of doing so." She hesitated for a moment, but then elaborated. "If we make it to the in-home visit stage, it'll probably look like we're dirt poor… and that's because at first, after the accident, we _were_." Yang began rubbing her right arm instinctively, avoiding eye contact with the now curious Blake, who had looked back up. "We just didn't bother to replace any of the crappy furniture, because we didn't see a need to. We've got savings, and enough to get us through at least two months of rent if suddenly all the income stopped. We just spend on a need-to-spend basis, and a cat could easily be factored into that."

Blake nodded, typing away on her computer. "I'm sorry this is getting so personal. We just like to be really thorough."

"No need to apologize," Yang replied, looking back up at her. "You and your family do a lot of good for those cats."

Blake gave a small smile as she watched Yang take in the last bite of her sandwich. "Thank you. Last question for you here, under what circumstances would you return the cat to us? Like, what scenarios would make you decide you don't want or can't take care of the cat anymore?"

"Ideally, _none_ ," Yang replied, swallowing after the second word and lowering her hand for good this time. "Our apartment allows cats, and I see us in that apartment at _least_ until Ruby graduates and gets a job that isn't minimum wage. And if we did have to move, well, Vale is a plenty big enough city that we'd be able to find an apartment that's cat friendly. A pet is a family member, and we both take that very seriously."

Blake nodded, typing the last sentence with a smile. "There, all done!"

Yang flashed another wide smile. "Awesome! When should I expect to hear back?"

"Within 24 to 48 hours," Blake replied automatically. "But honestly? More likely closer to the 24 hours. Since it's a surprise, I can text you with the details before I call you, if that's okay?"

Yang nodded, flipping her scroll over. "Here, let me give you my- oh, wait, you already have that."

Blake let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I do. It's okay, people forget all the time. But I could give you mine, so you know it's me and don't let your sister accidentally see it or answer or something?"

"Sure," Yang replied, unlocking her scroll and opening up her contacts app. She selected the page for a new contact before sliding it to Blake.

Blake picked it up and started typing when Yang spoke again.

"Can I ask _you_ a question? Unrelated to the cat stuff?"

Blake looked up, nodding before looking back down at the scroll. "Yeah, sure, one second… there!" She handed the scroll back to Yang, which now greeted her with the contact page of "Blake Belladonna", followed by her scroll number, with the note, "the crazy cat lady" with the same smiley face that Yang had drawn on her cup.

Yang looked up and smiled before locking the scroll and putting it down. She leaned over the table, and spoke in a much lowered voice. If Yang did not know about Blake's extra ears, she didn't think Blake would be able to hear it.

"I won't say any details out loud, so don't worry. But why do you wear the bow here?"

Blake's eyes went wide and she flushed bright red. Her right ear tried to twitch underneath the bow, but Blake immediately stopped it.

"If anyone ever said anything rude, my manager would kick them out in a second, flat," Yang continued, not noticing the ear. "I've seen her do it before. Hell, I've pointed out people to her so she could do it before."

"Well," Blake replied quietly, "that's a _very_ personal question."

"Oh." Yang's face turned as red as her sister's favorite blanket. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," Blake gave a gentle nod. "I know you didn't mean any harm, but just… that's not really something you ask people you don't know very well."

"Sorry," Yang apologized again, staring down at her empty sandwich bag.

"I do it because I don't know which shops are safe outside of… my district," Blake answered softly, lowering her voice even more for the last two words. "There's no signs, and people tend to be far more vocal about hate than acceptance."

"Oh. That makes sense. Sorry for being so rude."

"Thank you for the apology. I know you didn't mean it, but I appreciate you trying to learn, and learn from your mistakes. Very few hu- _people_ ," she corrected herself, "are willing to do that."

Yang gave a small smile in return. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the timer on her scroll went off. " _Oum_ , I gotta get back to work. It was nice chatting with you!"

"Same," Blake responded as Yang stood up. "Have a good rest of your day!"

"You too!" Yang called behind her as she began weaving through the crowd to get back to the staff room in time to clock in accurately. She tossed her empty bag in the trash, scooped her apron off the hook, and slid her card through the clock near the door to behind the counter.

She took her spot in the assembly line of taking cups from the cashier and making the orders. She found that she had a hard time focusing whenever the drinks didn't require her full attention. Her eyes kept drifting to a certain table, and the black bow that towered over the heads of the other customers.

She decided that when the rush began to calm down, she was going to try to talk to her manager about getting a new sign for the front of the store. They were always looking for new decorations, new ways to advertise their shop. Surely, this could count as an advertisement. It would bring in a new demographic that they'd never really advertised for before.

Yang knew _exactly_ what she wanted it to say.

* * *

 **AN** : Hi there! Thank you so much for reading, favoriting, bookmarking, and reviewing this story! It absolutely means the world to me to have all of this interaction and feedback! As many of you who are regular readers of mine may have noticed, Beecon University is on hiatus. I don't know when I'll continue it again. I have a lot of personal stuff going on, and I would really like to continue it, but right now, it's just got too many memories associated with certain personal things for me to continue it for the time being. It's not entirely abandoned, just kind of... put on an indefinite hiatus. I really do hope to return to it, but I haven't forgotten about it.

On the other hand, I hope you are enjoying this fic! Unlike BU, I actually have the entire story for this one planned out. (Yeah, BU doesn't exactly have an ending yet. Part of that whole hiatus thing.) Regardless, this fic will be somewhere between roughly 18-20 chapters. I have the entire plot planned out, but each chapter may end up having scenes from other chapters added, or have scenes cut out and put into the next chapter if the scenes would make the chapter too long for my liking. (I like to keep things somewhat consistent!) Regardless, I plan on continuing this story for as long as I can until its done, and publishing shortly after I finish a chapter. This means there's no consistent update schedule for this one, but it's coming along rather smoothly and easily, especially with a _finished timeline!_ (this really is a miracle for me, trust me.)

I'm going to try to keep ANs short for this fic from here on out, with simply promos for my stuff at the bottom.

If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	4. Chapter 4

Blake looked up from her laptop before the key even hit the lock of the door. That was one of the many perks to an extra set of ears- she could always hear when her parents were coming home.

Then again, Blake was pretty sure _anyone_ could hear her father thundering up the steps to the apartment. He was a large, strong man, and the idea of _subtlety_ or even _gentle walking_ was lost on him.

She smiled up at the door as it opened. "Hey. How was the vet?"

"Clean bill of health! New cats are settling in downstairs. You can go visit later if you want," Kali replied, hanging up her coat by one of the three hooks near the door.

Blake shook her head. "Not tonight. I'll give them time to adjust. Tomorrow, probably."

"Well, look at you. I remember a time in which you were bouncing up and down every time we had a new cat in the house," Ghira said with a smile, walking over to his daughter on the couch and ruffling her hair.

" _Dad_ ," she groaned, swatting him away. "That was such a long time ago."

"Three years isn't that long ago."

"I did _not_ do that at 19!" Blake huffed, trying to fix her hair.

"Okay, okay, _four_ years ago then."

"That's enough teasing, Ghira," Kali said gently, taking a seat next to her daughter.

Blake gave silent thanks with her eyes, Kali replying with a small nod in return.

"Were you able to call Yang today?" Ghira asked, taking a seat down in his armchair.

"Yes and no," Blake said with a smile, pulling up the file she had taken notes in on her laptop. "I didn't get to call her… but I ran into her and was able to ask the questions in person. Turns out, she works at Scholar's Coffee Shop."

"The one near your school?" Ghira asked.

Blake nodded. "I was able to talk to her on her lunch break."

"Oh, good," Kali said. "What were her answers?"

"She works full time, at the coffee shop. Ruby works part time at the IT office at the University of Vale, where she also studies Engineering. Yang's schedule changes weekly, but Ruby is usually home between 5 and 6pm most evenings." Blake glanced back down at her notes, reading again. "They'd be financially capable of caring for the cat and even explained how. She also said that the absolute only reason she'd give up a cat was because she couldn't take it with her if they ever moved, but seemed pretty adamant on finding a place that would let her have the cat if that happened. She said, and I quote, 'A pet is a family member, and we both take that very seriously'," Blake finished, looking back up from her laptop at her parents, her eyes lingering on Ghira.

Ghira nodded slowly, processing the information. "That's a good quote. That's the type of stuff I like to hear."

"I know it is," Blake said with a smile. "That's why I wrote that part down word-for-word."

"Well?" Kali asked, looking at her husband. "What's your vote?"

Ghira was quiet for a moment, avoiding eye contact with his wife and daughter. Finally, he let out a long sigh. "Yes, my vote is yes."

Blake jumped up and tackled her father in a hug, stunning him a bit. "Thank you," she whispered as she hugged him close.

"Since when have you been _this_ devoted to a potential adoptee?" Kali asked with a smirk.

"I, uh," Blake stammered, standing up quickly. "I just think a cat would really help her and her sister, is all."

Kali made a low humming sound, looking at her daughter's forced smile carefully, analyzing. Finally she opened her mouth. "I looked her up online last night. I see why you're so invested in this. She's very pretty."

" _Mom!_ "

Kali held up a hand in defense. "Just wait until _after_ she has a cat to ask her out, okay?"

"I- I'm not- She's not- I'm not-"

Ghira let out a deep belly laugh. "Sure, Blake. Sure you aren't. Go on, give her a call and book the in-home visit."

Blake was still standing between her parents, still stunned by her mother's accusations.

 _Did_ she-? _Was_ she-?

"Remnant to Blake," Kali teased, waving her hands in her daughter's line of vision.

"Huh? What?"

"Go book the in-home meeting with Yang."

"Oh! Right!" Blake plopped back down onto the couch, picking up her scroll from next to where she had sat.

 _New Message_

 _To: Yang Xiao Long_

 _Hey! I have an update- let me know when a good time to call would be!_

She locked her scroll with a _click_ , placing it back down beside her.

Kali rose an eyebrow. "You aren't going to call her?"

"We agreed I would text first so she could be out of earshot of her sister," Blake explained, nervously looking at the scroll by her side.

"Ah, I see," Kali said with a nod. She looked up at the clock. "Well, I better get started on feeding the cats dinner downstairs. Ghira, can you come help me?"

Ghira nodded, standing up from his seat. He ruffled his daughter's hair again on the way out, getting another " _Dad!_ " out of her, causing him to chuckle as he left the room.

Blake buried her face in her hands as soon as they left. Her face felt _very_ warm. Almost as warm as the robot ar-.

 _Ding!_

Blake grabbed her scroll instantly.

 _New Message_

 _From: Yang Xiao Long_

 _Give me ten minutes! I'll call you?_

Blake replied instantly.

 _Fine by me!_

Instinctively, she turned her ringer all the way up, only to notice that it already was.

That was… weird. She normally kept it on vibrate.

But it had dinged when Yang had texted her.

Had she turned up the volume when she texted Yang the first time, and didn't even notice?

Blake shook her head again.

 _What was going on?_

* * *

Yang leaned against the wall outside of Downtown Diner. She'd been practically bouncing since she got the text from Blake. Getting to talk to her on _both_ of her breaks today seemed like a miracle.

Everything was going according to plan. Ruby was going to get a cat for her 20th birthday.

Taking a deep breath, Yang opened her scroll and opened up her contacts app. _Blake Belladonna - Crazy cat lady_. Yang smiled back at the tiny smiley face on the screen. She pressed the call button, lifting the scroll up to her ear.

"Hello, Yang."

"Hiya, Blake!"

"So I've got some good news for you. You've made it on to the in-home visit."

"Awesome!" Yang pumped her free fist up into the air, grateful that no one, especially Blake, had seen it.

"We'll have to pick a time and day- at least one of the three of us can come by any day, including weekends. What works best for you?"

"Well," Yang thought, furrowing her eyebrows. "It'll have to be a day where I'm not working, but Ruby is at school. Which is almost… never. But I think there's something next week! Hang on a second, I have to look at my calendar."

"Take your time," Blake replied gently through the phone. Yang could only hope she was making that cute smile on the other side.

 _Wait, what_?

Yang shook her head, bringing her back to the task at hand. Calendar app, on her scroll.

She pulled it up, looking at the colorful little blocks. Ruby's schedule was listed there too, giant blocks of red resting behind Yang's yellow, purple, and grey boxes, each representing a different job. Finally, her eyes settled on a box of red that was unblocked by any other colors.

"Wednesday afternoon? Say, 2-4pm? Would that be long enough?" Yang asked once she raised her scroll back to her face.

"Yes, that will work. I'll be the available one then too."

"Awesome! You have my address, right?"

"It was on the application."

"Oh. Like the number."

Blake let out a little laugh over the phone, causing Yang to flush red. "Yes, like the number. Don't worry about it. Is there any special way to get into your building?"

"Yeah, I can text you which entrance you should use and how to buzz in."

"Sounds good. I'll see you Wednesday at 2, then?"

"Yeah see you then!"

"Bye, Yang."

"Bye!"

The call disconnected. Yang closed her scroll, sliding it back into her pocket. How could she keep forgetting she'd _already_ given Blake all her info, on the application?

Yang didn't actually need an answer to that question. She knew _exactly_ why.

As if on cue, she let out a massive yawn.

She was, as always, _exhausted_.

Yang glanced down at her watch. Time to get back to work. Even though her feet burned, and her muscles ached, and her brain wanted nothing more than a very, very long nap.

There'd be time for breaks later. Right now, she had to work.

For her sister. For the cat.

For herself.

* * *

Wednesday rolled around faster than Yang could imagine. Only three days remained until Ruby's birthday, and the anxiety of not having the present fully set up was setting in on Yang.

 _What if I don't pass the in-home inspection? What if they change their minds? What if we get there, and Ruby doesn't like any of the cats? What if-?_

Yang shook her head. No, now was not the time. She had rushed home from work at Scholar's, and had twenty minutes until Blake was going to get here. She had to clean up a bit- if she had done it before Ruby was gone, she would have questioned it. She also had to make it look lived in, and not _too_ clean so that she could return everything before she left for Downtown Diner.

Surprising Ruby was _extremely_ difficult. Yang would know. She'd tried and failed many times… and succeeded a few precious, precious times.

She was determined to make this one of the latter.

* * *

 _Buzz! Buzz!_

Yang bolted over to the small machine next to the front door. She pressed the smaller of two buttons, talking into the mic. "Blake?"

"Yeah, it's me." Blake's voice rang out through the entrance, distorted by the old, worn down machine.

"Come on up!" Yang pressed the big button next to the microphone. A loud ring went out from the box.

She began pacing back and forth in front of the door, waiting for the knock. Was it enough? Did Yang do a good enough job?

She glanced around the room. If it wasn't, then it was too late now.

 _Knock knock_.

Yang spun on her heel, turning to face the door. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and turned the knob.

"Hiya, Blake! Welcome to our dinky little apartment!"

Was that an okay joke to make? Would self-deprecating humor be _too_ much here?

Blake smiled widely, flushing the worries away from Yang. "Thank you. It really isn't as bad of a building as you made it out to be."

Yang blushed and smiled, stepping aside and waving Blake in. "I guess you're right."

"So, can you give me a tour of the place? And point out where you're going to keep things, like litter, food, where the cat will sleep, etc."

Yang nodded, gesturing around the main room that they were in. "This is our 'common space'," she said, putting air quotes around the last two words. "These apartments are geared towards college students, so they _really_ don't give things proper names. It's like a joint living room and dining room."

Blake nodded, looking around, waiting for Yang to continue.

"Through here," Yang waved as she walked towards the table on the right, "is the kitchenette. We'd store the extra cat food in one of the cabinets in there, but the cat's food would probably be on a mat somewhere around here." Yang gestured to the small dining area. "Maybe under the table, maybe in the corner, I'm not sure yet of an _exact_ location. Plus, a lot of the specifics are going to be up to Ruby, and she doesn't exact _know_ yet…"

"Yang," Blake said with a soft smile, cutting her off, "that's fine. General ideas of placement is more than enough."

Yang blushed, feeling embarrassed for rambling like that. Of _course_ it would have been enough. "Okay," she replied with a nod, trying to recover. "Back this way," she added, leading Blake back through the tiny living room towards the small hall to the left of the entrance.

"This," Yang waved a hand at an open door on the right, "is my bedroom. Forward is the bathroom, where we'd keep the litter." Yang paused to point at an empty area between the sink and the toilet. "And this room," Yang gestured to the left, "is Ruby's bedroom. It isn't exactly clean, nor cat-proof at the moment, but I can't ruin the surprise. I'll be making sure she cleans it up before we let the cat in there though. The cat will probably end up sleeping in there, with Ruby."

Blake nodded. "Can we go in?"

Yang nodded. "As long as we don't touch anything. That'd be a dead giveaway." She turned the knob to her left, pulling open the door and gesturing for Blake to go through.

Blake stepped inside, taking a look around. It looked like a standard dorm room. As a matter of fact, this looked _exactly_ like dorm room furniture.

"Is that… dorm room furniture?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the desk, dresser, and bed.

Yang nodded. "The University of Vale has a surplus store that holds sales open to the public a few times a year. We got lucky, there was one the weekend after we moved in here. Our old stuff was too big for this space, but this furniture is basically _designed_ to be crammed together."

Blake nodded. She continued to look around. The walls were covered in posters of rock bands, drawings of roses, blueprints and schematics, and an array of various photos along one wall. She smiled at the wall of memories. She'd thought about doing that once, but Chief would have seen the hanging photos and torn them down. The only wall space that wasn't covered was the open closet, which was the only semblance of organization in the room. The clothes had all been hung up neatly, and in order by color.

"She _really_ likes making things," Yang said quietly, pulling Blake out of her thoughts, as she looked at the desk. There were odds and ends, trinkets and gadgets, and an open engineering textbook.

"I can tell," Blake said with a smile. "As long as all of the technology is away when she isn't actively working on it, and the cat isn't in the room when she's working on it, it would be fine."

Yang flashed a giant smile back. "Good to know!"

"Can I see in your room too?" Blake asked.

Yang nodded, turning around and leading Blake out of the room and across the very small hall. Well, it really only took a single step to access any room from any of the other doors, so she wasn't sure if she'd really call it a _hall_. It was more like… a three sided square.

No, that didn't make sense. Whatever.

Yang led Blake into her open bedroom. She had the same exact furniture as her sister, except this was much cleaner. It looked much less lived in, with nothing left out on the desk or dresser. The bed was neatly made, with the only sign of anyone living there being the closet filled with clothes and the boxes stored underneath the bed.

If Blake had observed the organization of Ruby's closet, she immediately noticed the messiness of Yang's.

"Sorry about that." Yang blushed as she noticed Blake's eyes settle on the closets. "Usually they're a bit better, but I couldn't find my uniform yesterday. Turns out it had just fallen into the back of the closet. I haven't quite gotten the chance to fix it yet."

"That's quite alright, Yang. You don't need to apologize." Blake's eyes settled on one of the two aprons hanging up near the back of the closet, one the familiar brown of Scholar's Coffee Shop, and one… bright blue?

"I've never seen a blue apron at Scholar's before."

"Oh, well, yeah, that's because that's not my Scholar's uniform. That one's for the diner I work at."

"You work two jobs?"

"Three," Yang corrected.

Blake's mouth dropped open. "You work _three_ jobs?"

"Well, yeah." Yang looked down at the ground. "I work full time at Downtown Diner, and then part time at Scholar's and University Pizza. I run deliveries for the pizza place on the weekend evenings. With all three, we can keep the apartment, keep Ruby in school, and keep saving up to get somewhere better."

Blake was still stunned, but allowed her mouth to close. "Wow, Yang. I'm impressed."

Yang looked up, an eyebrow raised. "Why's that?"

"You obviously put your sister before yourself. In everything."

"Well, yeah. She's all I have left now."

There was a beat of awkward silence.

"Sorry," Blake said quickly. "I didn't mean to-."

Yang wove her hand in the air. "It's okay. You don't have anything to be sorry for."

Blake opened her mouth to protest, but closed it immediately. She took a moment to think, before speaking again. "I think that's all I need. I do have one more question, but not as Blake Belladonna of Belladonna's Cat Rescue, but as Blake Belladonna… your friend."

Yang's eyes shot up to meet Blakes. "My… friend?"

Blake nodded sheepishly. "I know it isn't exactly a _conventional_ way to meet a friend… but you seem like a really cool person. And I know you're a very busy person, but I'd like to be your friend… if you would."

Yang's stunned look turned into a wide smile. "Yeah, I'd like that too."

Blake reciprocated at once. "Okay, well, I have a question for you then."

"Shoot."

"When are you going to get the cat supplies? And where are you going to hide them?"

"Uhh…" Yang looked back down at the ground, her smile fading. "I didn't think about that, actually. I don't know how I'd get Ruby to let me borrow her car without getting suspicious."

"Well, I'd love to help you pick out some stuff at a pet store either tomorrow or Friday. I can give you a ride in my car, and store the stuff at the rescue until you and your sister come to get your cat."

Lilac eyes shot up to meet amber again. "Really?"

Blake smiled and nodded. "Yes, really."

"Does that mean…?" Yang gestured into the air.

"Yes, you passed the in-home inspection," Blake replied, watching Yang's smile grow three times in size. "You and Ruby can come on Saturday to pick up the cat."

" _Yes_!" Yang exclaimed, pumping her right fist into the air as she jumped, knocking it directly into the ceiling and leaving a tiny dent. Well, four tiny dents. In the shape of knuckles. "Uh… whoops?"

Blake was laughing hysterically at Yang's shocked expression and the four divets in the ceiling tile. "You know, when they say 'raise the roof', they usually don't mean _literally_."

"Nice, pretty, and good with jokes? Oh, we can _definitely_ be friends."

 _Did Yang just say that?_

 _Did I just say that?_

 _Did she just call me pretty?_

 _Did I just call Blake pretty?_

 _Is Blake blushing?_

Yang's eyes grew wide as she made a wild attempt to divert the conversation. "So the pet store!"

"So the pet store," Blake repeated with a smile, quickly trying to regain her own composure. "What time works best for you?"

" _Well_ ," Yang said, pulling out her scroll and opening up her calendar. "I have work at Scholar's tomorrow until noon, and then work at the diner at 3. Are you available between then?"

Blake nodded. "I have class tomorrow, but it gets out at 12:30. If you want, you could bring your bike to the diner, and I can pick you up from there and drop you off there when we're done."

"Sounds good to me!" Yang flashed with a smile. She almost plugged it into her calendar, before remembering that Ruby had access to it too. Instead, she set an alarm on her clock app instead. "Okay, that's in there."

"Great," Blake replied with a smile, having just plugged the information into her own scroll. "What's the address for Downtown Diner?"

"I'll text it to you." Yang continued tapping away on her scroll. "It's in the Downtown District, so it's probably decently close to at least a few different pet stores."

"I know some good ones downtown that we usually get our supplies from," Blake said with a smile, looking up from her scroll before slipping it back into her pocket.

"Perfect! I'll see you tomorrow at say, 1, then?"

Blake nodded. "It's a date. Uh, or, not. You know what I mean."

This time, both Yang and Blake blushed.

Yang still attempted to recover it. "Yeah, I do," she said with a soft smile. "I won't keep you any longer though- I'm sure there's some cats that need petting!"

Blake smiled back. "There always is, but never enough."

Yang let out a small laugh as she led Blake back to the front door of the apartment. "Do you remember how to get back out of here?"

Blake nodded. "Yeah, I got it. But if I get lost, I'll give you a call." She smirked, tapping her scroll in her front pocket.

Yang laughed again. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye, see you tomorrow!"

As Blake shut the door behind her, Yang's smile fell as she immediately began feeling a thousand emotions at once. She walked over to the futon, collapsing on it with a deep breath.

She'd passed the in-home visit! Ruby was going to get a cat!

Blake wanted to be her _friend_!

She'd called Blake _pretty_. _Out loud_!

Blake had offered to take her shopping for cat supplies. She'd slipped up and called it a _date_.

Yang let out a long groan and threw her head into her hands.

Back in high school, Ruby used to always tease her and call her a useless lesbian after she'd seen an online post about a story of a, well, useless lesbian. It had been _years_ since she got this thrown off by anyone, _ever_.

But it still held true.

Yang Xiao Long was still a useless lesbian.

* * *

 **AN** : If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	5. Chapter 5

Yang found herself leaning against the wall on the side of Downtown Diner, with her backpack slung over her back, and her helmet under her right arm. Her bike sat a few spaces away, in the area where employees were permitted to park. Normally, she would have just brought her belongings inside, but she _really_ didn't want to have to go inside until her shift was supposed to start. She feared that if she did, she would somehow get roped into covering for someone and working early.

Instead, she was keeping her eyes firmly planted on the cars that passed the entrance. The few cars that had actually pulled into the lot in front of the diner in the fifteen minutes that she had been out there had made her jump, but two of them were customers, one was turning around, one was a coworker, and most importantly, _none_ of them were Blake.

Well, it _was_ still a little early. She'd gotten to the diner just five minutes after Blake was supposed to be getting out of class. She shouldn't expect Blake to come around the corner so soon after her.

She was just excited! She was going with Blake to buy cat supplies! As a _friend_!

It had been _years_ since she'd done stuff with friends. She hadn't really been able to make any at trade school, and despite her relative popularity in high school, it was rare that she did things with friends outside of school. And the last two years? Forget about it. She rarely ever talked to anyone outside of Ruby and her coworkers.

And now _Blake_ wanted to be her friend.

Yang was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed another car pull into the parking lot. She looked up, spotting the familiar girl with black hair and a… bow, which was unsurprising, but still disappointing. Not on Blake's part,, of course, just another unfriendly reminder of reality. She watched as the car pulled up next to her.

"Heya, Blake!" Yang greeted cheerfully with a smile.

"Hi," Blake replied, gesturing to the backseat. "You can put your stuff back there before you get in the front, if you want."

Yang nodded as she walked around to the other side of the car, putting her bag and helmet to the backseat before climbing into the front. "So, how's your day been so far?"

"Pretty good overall," Blake replied, navigating her way out of the parking lot. "Class felt like it took twice as long today, but it's over now."

"That's good! I forgot to ask, what are you studying?"

"Creative writing," Blake answered, turning the car back onto the main road.

"Wow, that's cool. Do you want to be an author?"

Blake nodded. "One day, hopefully. I'm still going to be working at the rescue for the foreseeable future, but that's the end goal."

"That's awesome," Yang replied with a smile.

"What about you? What's your end goal?" Blake asked.

"Well," Yang said, rubbing her right arm again, "I was going to trade school to become a mechanic. I had to stop two years ago, but I'd like to go back someday. But right now, it's just waitressing, barista-ing, and delivery driving for me."

"Is barista-ing even a word?"

"I dunno. You tell me, you're the author."

Blake laughed, causing Yang to smile again. Blake's laughter was like music to Yang's ears.

"Okay, I walked myself right into that one," Blake admitted, before pointing ahead. "We're almost there. The shop's right down there."

Yang focused on the signs ahead. A rather large sign for _Oobleck's Pet Emporium_ was just four shops away from them. The store's logo had a rather cute looking grey and white corgi on it, sending a bittersweet feeling into Yang's heart.

"The logo looks like the dog Ruby and I had when we were really little," she commented.

"It's of the owner's personal dog. She's a real cutie. I've been lucky enough to meet her in person."

"The owner or the dog?"

Blake blushed. "The- the dog," she stammered.

"I'm just teasing," Yang replied with a smirk. "I wonder if she's related to Zwei. Not many corgi breeders in Vale, and grey corgis are kind of rare."

"Maybe," Blake said, trying to regain her composure. "If we're lucky, Oobleck will be there with her. I doubt it though. I heard he's taken on a second position in teaching history at UV."

"What a bizarre combination, owning a pet store and teaching history at a university."

"He's a very bizarre man." Blake pulled into a parking spot, putting the car in park. "Here we are."

"What made you pick this place?" Yang asked as she got out of the car, grabbing her wallet out of her backpack.

"It's one of our favorites. They don't sell any pets here, only supplies, which is kind of crucial to the whole adopt-don't-shop attitude we try to push at the rescue. They usually has decent deals, which is pretty important for any store, but doesn't sacrifice quality. It also has one of the widest varieties of cat supplies, and, of course, they're Faunus friendly." Blake pointed to a sign proudly posted in one of the front windows, complete with the logo of the cute dog, that read _Faunus Welcome!_

"Awesome," Yang replied with a nod. "So, I need food and water bowls, dry and wet food, a crate, a bed, a litter box, litter, toys, a collar, and… I think that's it?"

"Mostly," Blake answered as they entered, waiting for Yang to get a cart. "A mat for the food and a litter mat are important too, but we'll find those near the bowls and boxes. We'll supply you with some food when you get the cat, and I suggest you buy the same litter we do, at least at first, until the cat gets adjusted in a new space. You don't want to mess with the litter box at first. There's a few more things that I'm forgetting, but we'll go down all the cat isles, just to be sure."

Yang waved Blake forward into the store with a smile. "Well, lead the way!"

* * *

Forty minutes later, Yang and Blake had made their way back to the front of the store with a full cart. They'd picked out two cute black and white bowls shaped like cat faces for water and dry food, and a smaller red dish also shaped like a cat face for wet food. The wet food bowl had a tiny cat face with sunglasses painted on, which Yang absolutely loved. A rubber food mat had accompanied that, as well as Blake's recommended dry and wet food that they used at the rescue. They picked out a covered litter box, and the litter that Blake said they used at the rescue. They got a carrier, collar, treats, a brush, nail clippers, and a cat-sized harness and leash set. Yang had picked out a cute cat tent for a bed, and Blake had helped pick out a few different types of toys. Yang wanted to get a laser pointer, but Blake told her she should buy one online that could recharge so she didn't have to spend a fortune on those tiny batteries.

Yang had called her a beautiful genius at that comment.

Blake's cheeks remained the same shade of red as the wet food dish for the rest of the shopping trip.

One bill that had made Yang slightly cringe later, the duo were packing the bags full of supplies into Blake's car.

"And you're sure it's okay you hold all this for me?" Yang asked for what Blake thought was the fifth time that day.

"Yes, Yang, I'm sure. We've held more for longer periods of time," Blake replied, getting into the driver's seat.

"I just hope everything goes well. I want it to be perfect for her. Or should I say, _purr_ fect."

Blake didn't need to turn her head to know that there was a toothy grin on Yang's face. She chuckled, rolling her eyes with a smile. "I promise you, I'll be spending personal time to make sure it all goes smoothly. Your sister's surprise is in good hands."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"So back to the diner, then?" Blake asked, pulling out of the parking lot.

"Yeah," Yang said with a sigh. "I still have to eat lunch before my shift starts."

"No problem." Blake turned onto the road, back towards the way they had come. "I wish Oobleck was in today. That dog is enough to make anyone's day twenty times better."

"Yeah, I bet." Yang looked out the window at the rest of the shops on the road. "I'll have to go back sometime and see if I can meet her."

"For sure. If you sign up for the rewards program next time, you'll earn points for free when you buy food and litter and stuff."

"You sure you work for the rescue, and not for Oobleck?" Yang asked with a smile.

"Oh no, you've figured out my secret!" Blake replied with a smirk. "All along, I just pretended to work at a cat rescue with my last name just to promote the rewards program at a pet store in an entirely different district."

"Hey, for all I know, Belladonna might not even be your real name! Maybe the cat rescue doesn't even _exist_. The application wasn't actually to adopt a cat, it was to sign up for the rewards program."

"Yep, you've figured it out. I even went to your house, just to get you to sign up for rewards."

"Yeah, and on Saturday, instead of a cat, you're just going to hand my sister a rewards _cat_ -rd."

Blake burst out laughing. "Okay, out of all the bad jokes we've made today, that was the _worst_."

"My puns are always spe- _cat_ -ular!"

Blake rolled her eyes again as she turned the car into the diner parking lot. Yang's smile began to fade as she realized that they were already here.

"Well, I believe this is your stop," Blake said, pulling up close next to Yang's bike again.

"Yeah," Yang sighed. "I'll see you Saturday, yeah?"

Blake nodded as Yang stepped out of the car. She paused for a moment before speaking again. "Yang?"

"Yes Blake?"

"I know you're really busy and stuff, but if you ever have some time off and want to do something like this again, or just hang out… I think I'd really enjoy that."

Yang smiled at her through the open passenger's side door. "I'd really enjoy that too. I'll let you know when I get my schedule for next week, and we can compare open times."

"Sounds good," Blake replied, matching Yang's wide smile as she watched Yang pull her backpack and helmet from the backseat.

"See you Saturday!" Yang called over her shoulder as she walked towards the diner's entrance.

"See you Saturday," Blake replied, not moving from her spot for another minute.

Her heart was beating a million miles a minute.

But _why_?

* * *

Friday nights meant Yang found herself working at University Pizza. It was the job she spent the least time at, and the job she liked the least. The boss was kind of a… word that she would _never_ repeat in front of Ruby. The pay was pretty decent though, and usually drunk college kids gave pretty decent tips to the hot blonde who delivered them their life-saving pizza.

Occasionally, they'd get an order for somewhere outside of the University District. The delivery range wasn't large, so it barely really reached into the other districts, but there was still the occasional order that meant not only a longer ride, but less of a chance to be able to do what the boss called "chain deliveries". Chain deliveries were deliveries that were so close to one another that the drivers were able to leave with more than one order at a time, and the boss _loved_ them. The more chain deliveries a driver did in a night, the less likely the boss was going to criticize their efficiency that night.

That was the thing about working for University Pizza. There was no such thing as getting praised by the boss, only less criticism. This, among many other things, is what made Yang hate the job so much. Yet, despite her best efforts to search for another delivery job, it was the only one around who would let her deliver on her motorcycle _and_ only work on weekend nights.

Usually, when an Out-of-District order got placed, whatever delivery drivers that were waiting had to argue over who would take it. Those with chain orders setting up tended to get away with not taking it, since they were just waiting on one more call from a dorm to complete their chain, and those who had already taken an OOD order that night could get away with it too.

Unfortunately, the only one who did not meet either of those criteria was Yang.

"Yang," the manager overseeing the drivers that night called out as soon as Yang reentered the store from her last delivery, "you've got an OOD. Faunus District. Order 2337"

She let out a groan. "That's on the other side of the University District!"

"Yep," he replied, tapping on a large scroll in front of him. "The order will be ready in a few. The address was sent to your scroll."

Yang sighed, popping in her wireless earbuds before sliding her helmet back over her head. She leaned against the counter, waiting just a few more minutes before two pizzas were placed in front of her with the number 2337 written on the side of them both.

She picked up the pizzas, heading out the back door towards her bike at the end of the line of delivery cars parked behind the building. She slid the pizzas into the delivery bag that was firmly attached to the back of her bike before getting onto the bike herself.

She pulled out her scroll, opening up the app her workplace used to distribute orders to their drivers. Pressing a single button, she began the navigation to her destination before sliding her scroll back into her pocket.

 _Another day, another damn OOD_.

* * *

" _Take the next left onto Menagerie Avenue. In a quarter mile, your destination will be on your right._ "

Something about this felt _extremely_ familiar to Yang, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

 _Oh_.

It hit her the moment she saw the sign. Belladonna's Cat Rescue. Kuana Plaza and Apartments.

 _No way._

Yang turned her bike into the plaza parking lot, parking near the door marked _Kuana Apartments_. Her eyes lingered on the rescue for a few moments. The cat she'd be getting her sister tomorrow was in there, right now. She just didn't know which one yet.

She slipped off her helmet, taking out her earbuds and shoving them into her pocket. She pulled out her scroll, opening up the app again. The phone number was at the bottom of the app, right next to the name of the orderer.

 _Blake Belladonna_.

 _That sly little…_

Yang shook her head, pressing the button and connecting the call. She raised her scroll to her face, listening to the ringing.

"Yang?" Blake asked as soon as she picked up.

"Long time, no see. I have your pizza order downstairs."

"My pizza- what?"

Yang's eyes narrowed. "Did you not just order from University Pizza? I just happened to get your delivery order."

"No, I didn't…"

A second voice appeared in the background of the call.

"Oh, is that the pizza?"

"Mom?" Blake asked, still extremely confused. "Did you order pizza and give them _my_ number?"

"Well, yes. Go on, send them up here!"

"Uh, yeah," Blake said into her scroll again. "Sorry about that. There's a box right inside the apartment entrance that you can buzz in on. We're apartment number 3."

"Gotcha," Yang replied. "See you in a few," she added, before hanging up the call.

Blake's _mom_ had ordered pizza? From Yang's shop? And used Blake's number without telling her?

What was _happening_?

Yang shook her head, climbing off her bike and pulling the pizzas out of the bag. Holding them in one hand, and her helmet stashed under the other arm, she walked towards the apartment entrance.

* * *

 _Buzz buzz_!

Kali tapped the box instantly. "University Pizza?" she asked.

"Yep," came through Yang's voice on the other end.

"Come on up," Kali said, pressing another button that unlocked the main door for Yang.

The moment her mother's finger was off of the box, Blake spoke again. "But _why_?"

"Well, why not? We can't eat from Full Circle _all_ the time," Kali said with a shrug.

"They're literally downstairs. Why waste money on delivery from a shop that mostly just sells to drunk college students?"

"Because," Kali said, her ears twitching towards the door just before a knock. She opened the door with a smile.

"Hello Yang!" she exclaimed to a stunned Yang.

"Uh, hello," Yang replied, blinking several times. Kali looked incredibly similar to Blake. She supposed they were mother and daughter, after all.

"Sorry about the confusion," Kali said with a smile. "I selected the wrong autofill by accident."

"That's quite alright," Yang replied, handing over the pizzas. "That'll be $24.39."

Kali handed off the pizzas to Blake, who muttered out a small "Hello," when making eye contact with Yang. Yang gave a small smile and nod back at her.

"Here you go," Kali said, handing over a stack of money to Yang. "Keep the change."

Yang counted the money quickly. Two twenties and a five. "But that's nearly $20 in change, are you sure?"

"I'm positive," Kali replied with another smile. "Keep the change."

"I- th-thank you!" Yang stammered, her eyes lighting up as she stuffed a twenty and the five into the logoed fanny pack around her waist, pocketing the other $20.

"You're quite welcome. We'll see you tomorrow morning, yes?"

Yang's smile grew even wider. "Of course! I'm super excited. It's going to be great. I'll see you then, Blake and Mrs. Belladonna."

"Please, call me Kali."

"Okay. I'll see you then, Blake and Kali."

"Drive safe!" Kali called after her as Yang headed back down the hall towards the exit, a spring in her step.

The moment the door closed, Blake began talking again.

"What _was_ that?"

Kali smirked. "That was me wanting to do something nice, _and_ to get to tease you about your crush."

"I don't have a crush on Yang!" Blake insisted.

"Yeah, that's why you lose your voice every time food gets delivered."

"I-I-"

Kali laughed. "Let's eat, Blake. Who knows, if it's any good, we might make this a weekly thing."

Blake blinked again at her mother, still stunned by the entire interaction. She shook her head as she placed the pizzas down on the kitchen table. "What did you even mean by autofill? We got rid of all the autofill on the computers last year after that incident with the cards!"

"Oops," Kali replied with a wink. "Guess you'll never know."

* * *

Downstairs, Yang was climbing back onto her bike and getting ready to head back to the store. She glanced over her shoulder, up at the apartment above the cat rescue before starting up her bike and driving out of the lot.

Perhaps not _all_ OOD orders were the absolute worst things in the world.

* * *

 **AN** : If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	6. Chapter 6

Yang finished up her last order of the night at 11:40pm. The moment she was ready, she slipped the pizza bag off the back of her bike and brought it inside as she clocked out. She moved fast, deliberately trying to avoid the sight of the boss.

She'd fought for _weeks_ to end her shift early tonight. Normally, she wouldn't finish up until 2am or later, but she wanted to be there at midnight for Ruby's birthday. It had been a huge point of stress for her for weeks, and she didn't want it to turn into a huge argument right as she left.

Luckily for Yang, the door to the boss's office was closed. Unluckily for whichever poor soul was inside, as the shiny nameplate of _Cardin Winchester_ could only be seen on the closed door whenever he was reprimanding an employee.

Reprimand was _far_ too kind of a word. Yang decided that _screaming at_ was a better description of what usually happened behind that closed door as she slid back over her bike, fastening her helmet on for the last time that night.

Within a few minutes, Yang found herself in her parking spot in the apartment parking lot, right next to Ruby's car. She smiled at the sight. For once, she was going to come home on a Friday night to a still-awake Ruby, or at least she hoped so.

Once she entered apartment number 636, Yang found her little sister fast asleep on the couch, TV still running.

"Wakey, wakey," Yang said, closing the door behind her and hanging up her helmet and coat.

Ruby did not stir. Yang smiled, creeping over closer to her little sister. She glanced up at the clock. _11:55 pm_. Oh, she was _totally_ going to wait this out.

She waited, sitting on the ground next to the futon, bouncing her eyes back and forth between the clock and the sleeping face of her little sister.

 _11:56 pm._

 _11:57 pm._

 _11:58 pm._

 _11:59 pm._

Yang smirked, readjusting so she was now crouching on the ground next to Ruby.

 _12:00 am._

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY!" she yelled at the moment the clock changed.

"WAH!" Ruby screamed, tumbling off the futon… and directly into a laughing Yang.

"Happy birthday Ruby!" Yang repeated, hugging her still-startled sister close.

" _Yaaaaang_!" Ruby exclaimed, trying to push away. "Why'd you scare me like that?"

"It was just too easy," Yang replied, ruffling her little sister's hair before finally loosening her grip.

Ruby huffed before looking at the clock. "Oh wow, it really _is_ my birthday."

Yang laughed again. "You really thought I just screamed happy birthday at you for no reason?"

"I fell asleep like… three hours ago, maybe?" Ruby blinked, her eyes suddenly growing wide. "Penny! I never replied!" She scrambled back onto the futon, fumbling for her scroll in the messy blanket.

"I'm sure Penny will understand that you just dozed off," Yang replied, giving Ruby a small smile before standing up from the ground. "Speaking of, do you want to open your present from her now, or in the morning?"

Ruby tossed her scroll back aside after finishing her message to Penny. "Now!" she exclaimed excitedly, jumping off the futon and bouncing up and down.

"Easy there, squirt. Let me go get the package and the cards." Yang wandered towards the kitchen area, where Penny's package and Qrow's card had sat since their arrival last week. Yang's card had been added to the small pile, but there was no sign of Yang's _real_ present. She scooped them up in her arms, carrying them back over to the futon. "Sit, sit," Yang instructed, taking her own seat on the futon as Ruby sat down next to her.

"Oh, I didn't see you added your card!" Ruby commented, noticing the familiar handwriting of _Rubes_ on the card on the top.

"Your real present won't be here till morning, but you can still open the card now if you want," Yang explained with a soft smile.

"Aw, really? I have to wait till morning?"

"Trust me, it'll be worth it. Go on, open them up," she said, offering the box and cards to Ruby.

She began with Yang's card. She laughed the moment her eyes saw the front of the card.

"You're turning 2?" Ruby read aloud, trying not to keep laughing.

"I drew in a zero!"

Ruby shook her head with a smile. She opened it up, reading the inside before letting out another laugh. "I don't know what I expected."

"You're welcome, squirt." Yang ruffled Ruby's hair before the younger sister gave her a hug.

"Thank you, Yang. I can't wait to see my present tomorrow."

"Oh, trust me, it's a good one."

Ruby put the card down, her eyes settling on the next one. Qrow. "Is it bad I don't want to open it?"

"No," Yang replied softly. "But you still should."

"I know." Her fingers rested on the writing on the front. "I just wish he was here. I wish he hadn't gone away."

"Me too. He'll be back soon though, within the next year."

"I know. But it would have been different if he'd never left."

"I don't know that it would have."

The two sisters stared at each other for a few moments. Ruby shook her head, opening up the envelope. An actual 20th birthday card. She stared at the front for far longer than it took her to read the cover.

Yang closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as Ruby opened the card. Ruby let out a small gasp, causing Yang's eyes to shoot open.

"What?" Yang asked, her eyes settling on the inside of the card at the same moment she had both asked and answered her own question.

Two hundred lien.

"There's only ever been fifty," Ruby whispered, her eyes not even reading the words behind the money.

"Did he… make a mistake?"

"I don't know." Ruby picked it up, still staring at it in disbelief. "That's a month's worth of pay for me."

Yang's eyes read the words on the card as her sister still stared at the money. "Ruby, look."

 _Hey there kiddo,_

 _If you're getting this card, and it's contents, that means my mission has run for far longer than I would have liked. Missing three whole birthdays was not something I ever planned on doing. I promised your dad I'd make it up if I got stuck out here for this long, so I hope that this helps in the meantime. I promise I'll make up the rest in quality time and actual presents when I get back. You can show him the lien and this as me sticking to that promise._

 _Say hello to Yang and Tai for me. I love all three of you._

 _See you soon,_

 _Uncle Qrow_

Ruby closed the card, leaning back against the futon, the lien still clenched tightly in her hand. She shut her eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming.

There were no words that needed to be spoken. Just a hug. Yang pulled her close, rubbing her back and not saying another word.

There had already have been plenty of words exchanged over the last two years. There wasn't a single sentence left unsaid, a single piece of support that Yang could give that hadn't been repeated.

They both knew by now. There was nothing left they could do until he got back. There was no real way to prepare for that. No real way to know what would happen. No real way to comprehend the possibilities.

* * *

They sat like that for a while. Eventually, Ruby pulled back, putting down the card and setting the money next to it.

"We'll put that in the account tomorrow," Ruby said. "It'll help more than he could have ever imagined."

"Yeah," Yang replied. "We'll be sure to thank him when he gets back."

"Yeah."

Yang nudged her sister in the shoulder, offering a small smile. "You still have Penny's present, and you aren't allowed to go to sleep sad on your birthday, so you better get opening."

Ruby's eyes widened, remembering the colorful box she had been eyeing for the past week. She grabbed it and tore it open.

Yang watched as her younger sister happily tore through the various parts of the present. Trinkets and gadgets seemed to be the theme, as they always were with the gifts exchanged between the two best friends. Both girls loved engineering and making things, and often sent each other half-finished projects to see if the other could improve it in any way. There was, of course, more to the gift than just various odds and ends.

Penny, as per usual, had included a few books on cutting edge prosthetic technology, something that Ruby ate up as much as she could. These books were only available in Atlas, and super expensive to buy online and ship to Vale, but Penny had always sent one or two over whenever new editions came out.

There was a small card at the bottom, which Ruby opened up to find not only a very nice note, but also a rather hefty gift card for the UV bookstore. Ruby smile widened four times at the sight of that.

"She bought a gift card, got it shipped _to Atlas_ , and then shipped it back to us," Ruby said with a laugh. "I can't believe her."

"Oh, I can," Yang replied with a smile. "What's that last thing down there?"

A pure white box that was shockingly unmarked sat at the bottom of the larger box. Ruby pulled it out and opened it up, revealing a _very_ shiny new computer chip, packaged safely inside the box. A small note was attached to the inner part of the top of the box.

 _The newest chip for the newest model of Yang's arm- instructions on how to properly install it can be found in the books I gave you. I tested the same one on the model I keep up here and it worked perfectly. Figured Yang could use a gift this time too!_

" _Wow_ ," Ruby whispered, her eyes darting between the note and the chip. "This is…"

" _Incredible_ ," Yang murmured, her eyes wide. "A new chip? That will work in my arm?"

"I'll definitely do my research before trying to install it," Ruby said, shutting the top. "And I'd have to do it on a weekend day that you aren't working, so.. Not anytime soon."

Yang still couldn't believe it. "Please thank her for me. That couldn't have been cheap."

"And she bought two, one to test on her copy of the model. That's…"

" _Wow_ ," Yang repeated in the same tone her sister had just a minute earlier.

"I'll call her in the morning," Ruby said, placing the smaller box back into the larger box carefully. "It's nearly four in the morning up there."

Yang glanced up at the clock. It was nearly one in the morning. "Speaking of, it's time for you to head to bed. I've got big plans for tomorrow, and you need to be well rested."

Ruby's eyes lit up again. " _Yaaaang_ , you can't tease me right before sleep!"

"Sure I can," Yang replied with a smirk, ruffling Ruby's hair before standing up from the futon. "Come on, it's bedtime, for the both of us."

As if on cue, Ruby let out a huge yawn. "Well, okay. I guess I can try to fall asleep."

"Good." Yang smiled softly as she watched Ruby refill the box and carry it off to her bedroom.

"Goodnight, Yang," Ruby said before shutting the door.

"Goodnight, Rubes. And happy birthday."

Yang sighed as she shut her own bedroom door behind her, staring at the bed that so desperately called her name. A million different thoughts ran through her mind- work, Ruby, Blake, Qrow, Taiyang, Kali, the cat, Ruby, work, Qrow, Blake, Ruby, work, Blake, Ruby, Blake, Taiyang, Qrow, Ruby, Blake, Ruby, Blake, work, Ruby, Blake…

But there was no time for that. There was never time for that.

There was only time to sleep and start again the next day. She'd have to face it all eventually, but right now, it just wasn't possible.

A blissful, heavy sleep hit Yang like a train the moment her head touched the pillow, not even underneath any of her blankets.

There was no time, there were no thoughts. Only exhaustion and a deep, guttural craving to be freed.

* * *

 **AN** : A bit of an angsty chapter, I know. I did say there would be at least _some_ angst in this story. It's still primarily fluff, don't worry. I don't think I'd exactly be _capable_ of writing an angst-free fic, but we return to our regularly scheduled fluffy bee programming very, very soon.

If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all


	7. Chapter 7

" _YAAAANG!_ " Ruby yelled, causing her older sister to nearly fall out of bed.

"Holy Oum Rubes!" Yang exclaimed, catching her breath. "I- you- don't do that!"

"But it's my _birthday_!" Ruby whined. "And you told me I'd get my present this morning."

Yang rubbed her eyes, trying to take in her bedroom. "Yeah, I did, but I have to make sure it's _ready_ first."

Ruby's face fell instantly, causing Yang to panic.

"Don't worry, Rubes, it'll be within the next few hours. I just have to make a quick phone call, okay?"

Ruby nodded. "Okay, okay." She stood there, next to Yang's bed, watching and waiting as Yang unlocked her scroll.

"You can't listen to the call!" Yang chided, giving her sister a gentle push away. "Go on, go wait outside. And no listening through the door!"

Ruby huffed, sticking her tongue out before leaving the room.

Yang unlocked her scroll, staring at the screen for a few more moments. _8:00am_.

Ruby _really_ knew how to be prompt when it came to presents, huh?

She picked Blake's number out of her contacts and sent her a text.

 _Hey, you awake? Can I call?_

There was a solid ten seconds before a message came back through.

 _Yeah, go ahead._

It took Yang only a second to place the call and pull her scroll up to her face.

"Hello?" Blake answered.

"Hi Blake, sorry for calling so early."

"Not a problem, I've been awake for an hour already."

" _Seven_? On a _Saturday_?"

"I try to get up every day at the week at a consistent time. It does wonders for my depression."

Yang was _not_ expecting that.

"Oh, okay."

"I assume you didn't call me just to see if I was awake…?"

"Oh, sorry!" Yang exclaimed, flustered. "Ruby already woke me up for her present. I was wondering when things would be ready so I could bring her over."

"Oh, well, hmm…" Blake thought for a few more moments. "My parents usually don't open the rescue till 9 on weekends. I'm going down for feeding soon, and I can start setting up the stuff at 9 when they come down too. I'm thinking at _least_ 10, but I can text you when we're ready. Think you can keep her busy till then?"

"Oh, for sure," Yang replied. "I'll keep my scroll on vibrate."

"Good. See you later."

"See ya!" Yang hung up the call, slipping her scroll back into her pocket.

Yang stood up from her bed, stretching out her arms far above her head and letting out a big yawn.

" _Yaaang_!" Ruby called from outside the room. "I know you're done with your call!"

"Calm down, squirt, I'm coming," Yang replied, strolling over to her closet. "I gotta get dressed, hold your horses."

"There are horses involved?" Ruby exclaimed.

Yang let out a long laugh, picking out an outfit and throwing it on before slipping out of her room to find a bouncing Ruby in the tiny "hallway".

" _Soooo_?" she asked, still bouncing up and down.

"We have to wait," Yang replied, ruffling her sister's hair. "For right now, you're just going to have to settle for a big, classic, Yang-style breakfast."

"Pancakes?" Ruby asked, silver eyes going wide.

"Yes, pancakes. With whatever you want."

"But we don't have anything to go inside pancakes!"

"Which is why I'm sending you to the store to go get whatever toppings you'd like," Yang replied with a smirk, pulling the twenty lien she had gotten the night before from her back pocket.

Ruby's eyes grew wide. "Why do you have lien _on_ you?"

"I got it as a tip last night."

" _A twenty lien tip_?"

"I know," Yang smirked. "I was shocked too. But it was from someone special."

"Someone _special_?" Ruby gave a sly grin towards her older sister. "Is there a new girl in your life you haven't told me about?"

Yang blinked, thrown off by the question. "What? No!"

" _Mmhmm_ ," Ruby hummed, slipping the lien into her pocket. "Sure, Yang, sure."

"Go get your toppings," Yang instructed, her face still getting redder by the moment. "The pancakes will be almost ready by the time you're back."

"On it!" Ruby said with a tiny giggle, bursting out the front door at a speed that Yang had long come to accept as not a human speed, but instead a _Ruby_ speed. She stared at the door, waiting another few seconds, before it burst back open.

"Forgot my keys!" Ruby yelled, snatching them off the tiny table next to the door, darting back out into the hallway and shutting the door behind her.

Yang let out a laugh, shaking her head at her sister's predictable antics. She headed over to the kitchenette, pulling out the ingredients for pancakes, a somewhat rare treat nowadays. Pancakes with toppings were saved for extra special occasions, like Christmas or… Ruby's birthday.

She'd have to thank Kali again later, for making today extra special. She wouldn't have time to go get toppings last night, and they _rarely_ carried cash on them. Most college students ordered online from University Pizzeria, and _rarely_ used cash to pay. They were too drunk to remember cash. Cards were just easier. The twenty lien was just all that more special to the two girls.

Yang smiled as she began mixing the ingredients together in a big bowl. She had a feeling that the smile she'd seen on Ruby's face when she realized she could spend twenty lien on _toppings_ was going to be a regular occurance today.

* * *

Yang's scroll had gone off at 10:15am. She grabbed it and unlocked it instantly, looking at the message on her screen.

 _We're ready when you are. Let me know when you're leaving your apartment_.

Yang replied at once.

 _On our way!_

"That's the cue," Yang said to a very excited Ruby, who had jumped up from her spot on the futon the moment Yang's scroll had buzzed. "It's ready!"

" _Finally_!" Ruby exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down. "It feels like it's been _forever_!"

"It's been two hours." Yang smiled as she rolled her eyes. "And you spent the first hour gathering toppings, and then most of the second hour eating an _obscene_ amount of pancakes."

"You were the one that made that many!" Ruby protested.

Yang smiled wider, ruffling her sister's hair before heading over to the door, deliberately picking up Ruby's keys.

"We're not taking Bumblebee?" Ruby asked, trying to fix her hair again.

Yang shook her head. "We'll need the space in your car. I'm still driving though."

This sliver of information about the present that Yang had released had caused Ruby to start bouncing again, which she continued to do the entire way down to the car. Yang knew there was no stopping her. She might as well get this energy out now before she scared a poor cat.

Oh, who was she kidding? Ruby would still be just as excited once she realized that was happening.

Yang couldn't wait either.

* * *

"The Faunus District?" Ruby asked as they turned onto Menagerie Avenue.

"Yup," Yang replied, not offering any more information.

Ruby's face was practically glued to the window as they passed by shops.

"This isn't where we're going, but see that bookstore to the right?"

"Tukson's?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Yang replied. "They advertise for _every book under the sun_. You should check them out for textbooks next semester. Definitely cheaper prices that in the University District."

"I'll keep it in mind," Ruby replied, glancing anxiously between the store signs.

Yang waited till the last moment to hit her turn signal, causing Ruby to be even more confused.

"Pool supplies?" Ruby asked.

"Nope," Yang said, popping the p.

"Then what… _no way_."

In the front window of Belladonna's Cat Rescue was a giant red banner.

Yang's heart skipped a beat and her smile grew as Ruby's jaw dropped.

 _Happy Birthday Ruby!_

* * *

" _No way!_ " Ruby exclaimed again as they entered the cat rescue. "Yang, you didn't!"

"I _did_ ," Yang replied with a wide smile, giving a nod to the family smiling in front of the counter. "Ruby, I'd like you to meet the Belladonnas."

"Hello," Ghira said with a large smile. "I'm Ghira Belladonna."

"Kali Belladonna," Kali greeted with a soft smile, giving a quick wink to Yang.

"And I'm Blake Belladonna."

Yang's eyes fell on Blake, her heart beating faster and faster. The entire rescue had been decorated with red birthday decorations, complete with a large stack of "wrapped" items with birthday bows all over them on the counter. It was the supplies Yang had bought at the pet store two days ago.

"Blake's the one who has been helping me set all this up," Yang told her sister. "We've been working together for nearly two weeks now."

"I… you got me a cat?" Ruby asked, still in shock.

"Yep," Yang replied. Before she could say another word, she had no choice to let out a small " _oof_ " as all of the wind got knocked out of her as Ruby crashed into her for a huge hug.

"Thank you," Ruby whispered.

Yang returned the hug, cupping the back of Ruby's head with her right hand. "You're welcome, Rubes. It was about time you got your cat."

After a few more moments, Yang released the hug and Ghira let out a small cough, gaining the attention of the sisters.

"There's still a bit more to do before you get to go home with a cat," he said gently. "We've got to find the perfect cat for you."

Ruby's eyes widened as she nodded. "How do we do that?"

"A cat personality test," Kali responded with a smile, holding out two clipboards in each of her hands.

Ruby took it immediately, beginning to fill it out at once. Yang took a few extra moments before taking the clipboard, glancing at all the decorations around the room and giving a warm smile and nod to the family that had done so much for them today. A silent sign of thanks, to which they all returned.

They'd done more for them both today then Yang thought they'd ever really know.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Kali had brought them all waters as Ghira was reviewing their personality test results and matching them to the cats that he thought would fit them best. Ruby was busy gushing over the cats, asking Kali about all of their names and backstories.

Yang and Blake were sitting down on the chairs surrounding the coffee table near the counter.

"I really can't thank you enough," Yang repeated for what felt like the fiftieth time that morning. "This is just, incredible."

"It was really not a problem, I promise," Blake repeated again. "I had a lot of fun making everything and setting it up. The reaction on her face-" _and yours_ , she thought, "was absolutely worth it."

"You certainly made this her most memorable birthday ever," Yang replied, leaning back in her chair. "That really means a lot, for the both of us."

Blake smiled wide. Before she could respond, Ghira entered the room again through the door marked _Employees Only_.

"So!" Ghira exclaimed, holding the papers in hand. "After going over your tests, I have determined your cat personality types."

Ruby spun around on her heel, turning her full attention from a still smiling Kali to Ghira. Yang stood up, Blake following suit a moment later.

"Ruby, you'd fit best with a cuddle bug cat," Ghira said, causing Yang to burst out into a fit of giggles.

Everyone turned and looked at her for a moment. She waved her hand, trying to regain her composure.

"Sorry, sorry. You're just such a… _masculine_ man, I did _not_ expect the words _cuddle bug_ to come out of your mouth."

Ghira returned the laughter, causing everyone else to follow suit. "I suppose you're correct. Which brings me to your results, Yang, which is a sassy cat."

Yang gave a nod, smiling wide. "That sounds about right."

"Now, normally, we'd pick out three cats that fit your personality types well, and let you pick between them. However, we actually have a cat here that I think is the _perfect_ blend of your personality types."

"Don't you mean the _purr_ -fect blend?" Yang offered with a smirk, causing Ruby to groan her name in protest and Blake to roll her eyes with a smile.

Ghira shook his head, trying to hide his smile. "If you don't like that cat, we can look at others, but I have a feeling you will."

"Let's see it!" Ruby exclaimed, practically bouncing again.

Ghira turned back into the back room, leaving the girls waiting in the main room of the rescue.

"Do you know which cat he's talking about?" Yang asked Blake.

"I have an idea," Blake said with a smile.

The door opened again, Ghira coming out with a black cat in his arms this time.

"This sweetheart," he said, "is named Mezzaluna. She loves cuddles and pets, but _is_ a queen and refuses to be treated like anything less than one."

"Oh… my… Oum!" Ruby exclaimed, dashing up to the cat in his arms, gushing over how adorable the cat was. Mezzaluna looked at Ruby with curious eyes, letting out little coos until Ruby began to pet the top of her head. The moment the petting began, the cat broke out into very loud purrs.

"I think she's the one," Yang said with a smile, watching as Ghira handed the cat over to Ruby. Mezzaluna climbed up on Ruby's shoulder at once, causing the girl to giggle.

"I think so too," Blake added, stepping up to stand next to Yang.

Yang felt the girl's presence near her, causing her heart to beat ten times faster than it had been. She didn't know _why_ Blake had this effect on her, but she certainly had it.

"We'll dress up the crate," Kali said with a smile and a nod, looking back at the pile of supplies behind them. "Fill it with a blanket that smells familiar so she's comfortable on the ride home."

Ruby's eyes widened as she suddenly noticed all the supplies. "All of that's for Mezzaluna?"

"Yep," Yang answered. "It's the rest of my gift to you. The first part being the adoption fee for the cat."

"Actually," Blake interjected, "we've decided to waive your adoption fee. And we added some extra food and litter to that pile, at least enough for another two months."

Yang's jaw dropped at the same time as Ruby's.

"You… didn't have to do that," Yang said in a half-whisper.

"I wanted to," Blake said with a smile, "as a friend."

Yang's heart was beating faster again.

"Thank you," Ruby stammered, still petting the cat on her shoulder. "This is… the best birthday _ever_!"

"That's the goal," Yang and Blake said at the same time, exchanging glances and laughing when they realized their synchronization.

* * *

"You know," Ruby said thirty minutes later, when all of their supplies and Mezzaluna had been packed into the car, "I think I was right this morning after all."

"About what?" Yang asked, raising her eyebrow as she pulled the car out of the parking lot and back onto Menagerie Avenue.

"About there being a special girl in your life."

Yang blinked, unable to come up with a response, other than, "What? No! I-"

Ruby let out a string of giggles. "Stay in denial all you want, but the sooner you admit your feelings, the better off you are!"

There was no response other than the soft meowing of Mezzaluna, tucked safely away in the crate in Ruby's lap.

* * *

 **AN** : Sorry for the late upload tonight y'all! Duty calls! (Quite literally, I'm an RA and stuck on duty on this cold and bitter Saturday night).

Not sure if I'll be able to keep up the daily uploads next week, because I have a few large assignments due, but I'm going to try! (This means that despite this warning, I'm probably going to anyways, because I'll end up procastinating my schoolwork with fanfiction writing, which really isn't all _that_ bad.)

If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	8. Chapter 8

Nearly a week had passed since Ruby's birthday, and things were going well.

Mezzaluna was settling into her new home just fine. She seemed to love being the only cat in the house, and thrived off the non-stop attention that Yang and Ruby fed her. Whenever Ruby was home, Mezzaluna was close behind, following at her feet, riding on her shoulder, or simply sitting within an arm's reach of her person.

If Yang happened to get home before Ruby did, or left later than she did, the cat seemed to seek out attention from her as well, but not in the same ways she did with Ruby. She seemed to enjoy just being in Yang's presence. Yang enjoyed having someone to talk to around the house, even if the black cat didn't exactly talk _back_. It was nice, having someone to just listen to Yang rant about whatever it was she needed to get out of her mind that day.

Sure, she could have done that in the empty apartment _before_ the cat had come to live with them, but there was something that just felt a little bit better about talking to another living being about her problems.

For the last few days, there had been _one_ major problem on her mind.

Blake Belladonna.

The girls had continued talking over text even after Mezzaluna had come home. At first, it was just update pictures of the cat, but it quickly became casual discussion. If Blake was home at the same time as Yang, she'd respond to one of Mezzaluna's pictures with a picture of one of her _four_ cats.

Yang knew them all by name now, despite never having met them, but had a hard time telling Gambol and Shroud apart. They were both pure black cats, nearly identical. Blake had insisted that it was easier to tell them apart in person- she'd have to come by sometime and meet them.

Yang had been obsessed with the idea since Blake had brought it up. She wanted to see Blake again- but she wasn't exactly sure how to do it.

She had decided that Ruby had been right, although she didn't want to admit it to her yet.

Yang Xiao Long had feelings for Blake Belladonna.

Yang wanted to ask Blake on a date.

But she just didn't know how.

"Is texting her too informal?" Yang asked, pacing back and forth in front of the cat resting on the couch.

" _Mrrp._ "

"You're right, Mez," Yang sighed, shaking her head. "Do I call her? How do I even know if she's busy or available? Is she even seeing anyone?"

" _Meow._ "

Yang shook her head again, opening her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by an alarm going off on her scroll.

" _Shit_ ," she hissed, pulling out her scroll and turning it off. "Sorry Mez. I've got work."

It wasn't her usual time to work at the coffee shop, but she was covering for a coworker. She'd taken any opportunity for extra hours, as she usually did, hoping to scrape together whatever extra money she could. Even though she _knew_ she'd be fine just working her normal hours, she also was filled with an unending anxiety over taking care of Ruby, and now, Mezzaluna.

Yang darted into her bedroom, pulling her coffee shop apron from her closet and shoved it into her backpack. Flying around the house at a speed that rivaled her little sister's, she gathered the rest of her things, including her lunch, keys, jacket, and helmet. The entire time, Mezzaluna sat on the couch, watching and flipping her head back and forth as if she were watching a tennis match between Yang and the collection of Yang's things.

"Bye Mez! See you tonight!" Yang called over her shoulder as she headed out the front door of the apartment, locking it behind her before sprinting down the hallway to the elevator.

* * *

Blake was pretty annoyed when she went all the way to Vale Community College, only to find a sign on the door that had told her that her creative writing class was cancelled today. Why her professor couldn't have been bothered to send out an email was beyond her. She could have lounged around the apartment this morning, and spent some time with her cats. She could have worked up the nerve to send a text to a certain someone she'd been wanting to ask something specific all week.

Instead, she found herself sulking back towards her car in the parking lot at VCC, annoyed she'd wasted gas coming all the way out here.

She let out a long yawn as she got into the front seat. She didn't really want to go back to sleep and ruin her sleeping pattern, as much as the idea of a warm bed, filled with cats, called to her right now. Maybe all she needed was a pick-me-up…

A cup of coffee!

A smile formed on Blake's face as she pushed her keys into the ignition and turned.

If she was lucky, her trip to the University District wouldn't have been so worthless after all.

The first thing that Blake noticed upon entering the coffee shop was the brand new sign in the window, lovingly hand-painted on a large piece of finished wood.

 _Faunus Welcome!_

Blake smiled, her ears twitching slightly under her bow. She wasn't going to take it off, in case someone from class saw her, but she knew _exactly_ who was behind this new decor for Scholar's Coffee Shop.

She pushed the door open and took her place in line. The crowds weren't as bad as they usually were when she came, but then again, most classes were in session right now. Still, she struggled to see over the tops of the heads of the taller men in front of her.

It wasn't until she heard the call of "Next in line!" did her face light up with a huge smile.

It seemed that today was indeed her lucky day.

* * *

"Next in line!" Yang called again, looking up after placing the last cup in line.

"Fancy seeing you here," Blake said with a smirk, stepping up to the register.

"Oh, hi Blake!" Yang exclaimed with a huge smile. "Didn't expect to see you here today!"

"My class got cancelled, but I didn't find out until I already got to VCC. I figured I'd stop by and see if you were working."

Yang blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah, I actually, uh, had something I wanted to ask you."

Yang's heart started beating a million miles a minute. "Go ahead!"

"Would you… if you're available… want to go out to dinner tonight? Like… a-a date?" Blake asked, stammering a bit.

Yang blinked twice before a smile crossed her face. "Yeah, absolutely! Tonight's my night off from the diner, and I get out of here at three today. I'd have to go home and shower and stuff…"

"Three is a little early for dinner anyways. What if I picked you up at your apartment at six?"

"Sounds great!" A huge smile was still on Yang's face.

" _A-hem_ ," the girl behind Blake coughed. "Are you actually going to order anything? Some of us have places to be."

Both Blake and Yang's faces lit up bright red.

"Sorry!" Blake exclaimed quickly, turning back to Yang. "A medium pumpkin spice latte, please."

"You got it!" Yang punched the order into the computer, causing the price to pop up on the tiny screen facing Blake. Blake handed her card over, and the two completed the transaction without another word.

"See you at six," Blake said with a wink as she walked away from the register, leaving Yang flustered behind the register again.

" _A-hem_ ," the girl repeated, clearly annoyed.

"My apologies, one moment," Yang said quickly, waving over a coworker.

"Can you take over the register for a while?" Yang asked. "I need to get moving around, my arm is jamming up."

Was it true? No. Did it happen sometimes? Yes. Did Yang _usually_ lie about it? No. But the solution to the problem of her arm jamming up was to get more use out of it by making some drinks and keeping it flowing without interruption. That gave her the perfect opportunity to make something _extra_ special

* * *

"Blake!" Yang called out five minutes later at the back of the shop.

Blake approached the counter, raising an eyebrow. "Weren't you just working register?"

"Wanted to make this," Yang replied with a smile, handing her the drink. "Make sure you take off the top and take a look before you drink," she added with a wink.

Blake took the drink, her face blushing at the wink Yang had given her. She walked back to the table she had picked out, trying to hide her smile.

As soon as she sat down, she very gently took the plastic top off the hot drink. At the top was some rather cute latte art of a very cute cat head, complete with ears, eyes, nose, a mouth, and whiskers.

Blake smiled as her heart fluttered in her chest. Pulling out her scroll, she snapped a quick picture before looking over her shoulder at a still-smiling Yang. She turned back to the scroll, sending the picture to the artist, and added a quick _Thank you :)_.

Sliding her scroll back into her pocket, she looked down at the cat on the drink smiling back up at her.

Yeah, today was _definitely_ Blake's lucky day.

* * *

Yang tossed her keys onto the table and hung up her helmet in a single fluid motion. She pulled out her scroll, sending a quick text to her sister.

 _Hey, what are you up to?_

A reply came within a minute.

 _Just got out of class, was going to go to the library to get some work done. Why, what's up?_

 _I have a date in three hours, think you could come home and help me get ready?_

Moments after Yang sent her reply, her screen lit up with a call from her younger sister. She answered, but before she could even offer a greeting, Ruby yelled into the phone in excitement.

" _A DATE? WITH WHO?_ "

"Nice to talk to you too, Rubes."

"Who? Tell me! This is so exciting, oh my Oum!"

"Do you remember the girl from the cat rescue? Blake?"

"I _knew_ it!" Ruby exclaimed. "I'm heading back to my car now. I'll be home soon!"

"See you soon!"

Yang hung up the call and looked around the room. Mezzaluna looked up from her nap on the couch, letting out a small " _mrrp_?" at the sight of Yang waking her up.

"I didn't have to figure it out, Mez!" Yang exclaimed, plopping down on the couch next to the cat to give some head scratches. "She found me at the coffee shop and asked _me_ out!"

" _Mrrr_ ," Mezzaluna responded, pushing her head further into Yang's hand.

"I know, right!" Yang said cheerfully, continuing to pet the cat as she waited for Ruby to get home.

* * *

Blake swung open the door to her apartment, a spring in her step as she hung up her jacket and put down her keys.

"Someone's awful chipper," Kali said, looking up from the TV playing in the living room.

"Well, class was canceled, I got a great latte… and I have a date tonight."

"A _date_?" Kali asked, a smirk appearing on her face. "With who?"

"...Yang."

Kali jumped up from her seat. " _Aha!_ I knew it!"

"Yes, yes, you were right, as always," Blake replied with a smile and rolling her eyes. "Would you… help me pick something out to wear?"

Her mother nodded, following her daughter to her bedroom. "Tell me the details! Who asked who?"

"I asked her."

" _Really_?"

"Oh, come on Mom, give me a bit more credit than that," Blake said with a laugh, shuffling through her closet.

"She just seemed like a very… forward person. And you're… not very forward."

Blake rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You only met her twice, and one of those times, she was delivering you a pizza."

"With the amount you talk about her, I know her far better than you realize."

Blake's cheeks flushed bright red.

" _See_ ," Kali said with a smile, poking her daughter in the cheek. "You know I'm right."

" _Mooom_ ," she whined, trying to push her hand away. "Are you going to help me pick out an outfit or not?"

"Fine, fine," Kali replied with a laugh, heading over to her daughter's closet. "Where are you going?"

"Out to dinner, probably at Francine's," Blake stated, joining her mother in staring at her closet. "So something nice, but not _too_ nice."

Kali nodded. "Excellent choice. Italian is usually pretty safe, and Francine's is _very_ good."

"You can stop fantasizing about the shrimp scampi now," Blake teased.

Kali let out a laugh, beginning to push through the clothing on their hangers. "What about a nice black sweater?"

Blake nodded, approving of the garment that her mother was holding in front of her. "I could put a white blouse on under that, and the collar sticking out the top will look cute."

"Just make sure to use the lint roller in your car," Kali reminded her.

"Of _course_ ," Blake said with a laugh. It was rare that Blake wore any white, since her two black cats tended to immediately cover anything white in a ton of fur. Still, she'd acquired a _few_ white options over the years, mostly used underneath other clothing, like for this outfit.

"What about the bottom?" Kali asked, after placing the sweater and the white blouse Blake had removed from the closet on Blake's bed. "Leggings and a skirt, maybe?"

Blake shook her head. "Eh, that's a bit _too_ dressy." She walked over to her dresser, opening one of the drawers and sifting through them. "Black jeans?"

"One of the nicer pairs, probably." Kali appeared next to Blake, pulling out two pairs of jeans from the drawer. "One of these."

"Hmm…" Blake hummed, glancing between the two. "The right one," she settled.

Kali nodded, putting the left pair back in the drawer and putting the other on the bed.

"Shoes," Blake murmured, heading back to the bottom of her closet.

"You should definitely go for black, or primarily black," Kali suggested, crouching down next to her daughter. "Boots?"

"Maybe," Blake hummed, picking up a pair of canvas shoes. "I was thinking something more like these."

"Hmm," Kali hummed, sounding very much like her daughter. "I like the look of the canvas shoes better, but it's a little too cold for exposed ankles."

Blake laughed and rolled her eyes. "We'll be inside for the most part. I think my ankles will survive."

Kali shook her head with a smile. "Alright, if you say so."

"I'm going to go take a shower and finish getting ready," Blake said, standing up and putting her shoes next to her bed. "Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate the help."

"Of course," Kali said with a smile, giving her daughter a huge hug. "I'm glad to see you excited about a date, and with a rather good girl, if I do say so myself."

" _Mooooom_!"

* * *

Ruby burst into the apartment, practically bouncing up and down as she darted over to the futon.

" _OhmyOumohmyOumohmyOum you're going on a date with Blake!_ " Ruby exclaimed, giving her sister a crashing hug.

"Yes, yes," Yang replied, trying to gather her breath, gently returning her sister's hug. "Do you think you could let me go and help me pick something out to wear before I shower and do my hair?"

"Do your hair? How much time do you _have_?"

"Three hours," Yang replied at once. "More like two and a half now… Okay, I'm going to go shower, can you pick out a couple different outfit options for me?"

"You got it!" Ruby sprung up, darting into Yang's bedroom, Mezzaluna trotting at her heels and making small noises as she ran.

Yang laughed, getting up off the couch and heading for the bathroom. Ruby and Mezzaluna had already become _so_ much alike.

* * *

Two and a half hours later, Yang was pacing in the living room, Ruby still practically bouncing up and down on the couch.

Ruby's choices had done fairly well. Yang had settled for a classic look of hers- a tan coat over a nicer dark dress shirt, a pair of dark jeans, and short heels. Not that she really needed the extra height, but Ruby had insisted that they really brought the whole outfit together. Yang didn't have a ton of time to argue, since her hair took so long to dry and style properly, so she had gone along with the outfit regardless.

"Don't you have homework to do?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow at her bouncing sister as she turned again, continuing her pacing.

"Please, as if _anything_ is going to get done tonight now. I'm too excited for you!"

" _Ruby_ ," Yang sighed, "this wasn't what I intended to happen when I asked you to come home."

"It's not due for another few days anyways," Ruby replied, waving her arm dismissively. "It'll get done, I promise! It's been a long time since something this good happened. I'm allowed to be excited for you, alright?"

Yang sighed, stopping in her tracks. "Don't you dare," she warned, but it was already too late.

Giant silver orbs appeared in front of her, the classic puppy dog eyes that Ruby had perfected long, long ago.

With another sigh, Yang gave in. "Alright, alright."

Yang's scroll gave a chirp, having set the volume all the way up. She pulled it out of her pocket so fast, she nearly dropped it.

 _I'm outside!_

Yang's heart fluttered at the message, her breathing uneven.

"You got this!" Ruby said, giving her sister a quick hug. "I'm sure it'll be great."

"I really, really hope so," Yang replied, before grabbing her keys and heading out the door.

* * *

 **AN** : If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	9. Chapter 9

" _Wow_ ," Blake said as Yang got into the front seat next to her. "You look _incredible_."

Yang's cheeks turned a deep red with blush. "I can easily say the same about you."

"I don't think I've ever seen you in anything outside of work clothes," Blake said, still taking in her date's appearance with wide eyes. "You're… _gorgeous_."

"I- th-thank you," Yang stammered.

Blake smiled, turning her steering wheel and pulling away from the spot where she had been waiting for Yang to come down from her apartment. "You're cute when you're flustered."

"You aren't allowed to compliment me three times in a row, and not let me compliment you! That's like, totally against the rules!"

"What rules?" Blake asked with a smirk as she turned the car onto the road, bringing them out of the parking lot behind the apartment complex.

"The rules of first dates, _duh_ ," Yang replied. "First rule: equal compliments must be given."

"Well, I believe you have some catching up to do then."

"Your hair looks _incredible_ ," Yang replied instantly. "The curls at the bottom really suit you. They complement your ears well."

Blake blushed, the ears on the top of her head swerving. "Thank you. I don't usually do my hair often. Only for special occasions."

"Glad to know I'm special enough then," Yang said with a smile. "By the way, where are we going, exactly?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right." Blake glanced at Yang quickly, the evening light catching the bright yellow fingers on her right hand. Blake's heart tightened slightly, remembering her father's reaction to the arm. "Francine's. It's a very good Italian restaurant in the Faunus District. I hope you don't mind going there…"

"Mind? Why would I mind?" Yang asked. "Italian food is delicious!"

"I more meant… going somewhere in the Faunus District."

"Oh. I still don't know why I would mind, though!"

"Yang, how often have you gone to the Faunus District?" Blake paused after the question for only a moment, before quickly adding, " _Besides_ the cat rescue."

"Uh… Sometimes on deliveries, or a few times when a store there had something I needed for cheap, but really not that often," Yang said with a shrug.

"Have you ever noticed people staring?"

"At me?"

"At your arm."

Yang blinked twice at the question. "Blake, I have a bright yellow robot arm. People stare at it _wherever_ I go, literally _all_ the time. Even _I_ catch _myself_ staring at it sometimes. It doesn't even phase me anymore. I promise you, you don't have to worry about it."

"But do you know _why_ they stare in the Faunus District?"

"Because it's a bright yellow robot arm?" Yang was confused. She'd thought she'd made her experiences with her arm rather clear.

Blake shook her head. "Because the only place that makes robot prosthetics like that is Atlas."

Yang's heart dropped into her stomach. " _Oh_." She had never, not once since getting her arm, had even put a single thought into people making assumptions about her opinions on Faunus because she had an Atlassian robot prosthetic. It had just never been something that had been relevant in her life. Just like the sign, or lack therefore of, in the coffee shop.

But now, here and now, with Blake, it _was_ relevant.

"Yeah."

"I- I'm not… I don't support the way Atlas treats Faunus, at all. I got this arm, well... because...-" Yang trailed off, words failing her as she attempted to finish her sentence.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Blake assured her, before Yang could continue. "I know you don't support Atlas. I highly doubt you would have even bothered to come to the rescue in the first place if you were, let alone say yes to a date with me. But not everyone else knows that. I just want you to be prepared if people are a bit more rude to you than you're used to."

"I'll be fine," Yang said, waving her right arm in the air. "I've had more than a few horrid customers across my jobs. Honestly, at this point, there's very little someone can say to me about my arm that will phase me. Will you be okay though? With remarks or looks?"

Blake glanced at Yang before returning her eyes to the road. "It's something I'm certainly used to too, just usually not outside of the Faunus District. I'll be okay though. I just wanted to make sure you were aware going in."

"We're going to have a good time, okay? Don't worry about me, I promise you it'll be fine."

"Okay," Blake replied with a gentle smile. "We're almost there."

Yang looked out the front window to see a plaza directly ahead. It wasn't too unlike Kuana Plaza, with shops on the first floor, and apartments above them. The main shop here was, to no one's surprise, was Francine's Italian Cuisine.

* * *

Blake had led her date into the restaurant, giving her name at the host's stand for their reservation. It wasn't _too_ packed yet, but there was a steady flow of folks coming and going.

Despite the exterior looking as if only one of the shops in the plaza was occupied by Francine's, the interior was _huge_. Yang guessed she could fit three of the cat rescues into the dining area alone, not including whatever kitchen hid behind the large doors in the back of the dining room.

"Right this way," the host said, leading them to a table towards the back of the restaurant. As the pair followed him, Yang kept her right hand inside the front pocket of her jacket, unsure if she should take it out yet or not. It felt like it weighed a million pounds in her pocket.

Sure, she had told Blake that she'd be okay, but she really wasn't sure. Not because of how she might feel if someone said something to her, but because of how she might make others feel by wearing an Atlassian robot prosthetic in a Faunus-owned restaurant, in the heart of the Faunus District. She felt like it painted a huge target on her right now, and not her usual "I don't give a _fuck_ " target that she wore most days when people began pointing and staring. The target currently felt like it read, "I'm a giant racist and I don't give a _fuck_ that you know it."

It wasn't true. Yang knew it wasn't true. Blake knew it wasn't true. But would anyone else?

Yang let out a silent sigh of relief when she realized their table was located in the back of the restaurant, where few people sat. They were directly next to a gorgeous portrait of a woman with a lion's tail wrapped around her body, clutching a wooden spoon with her tail as she crossed her arms, giving a closed smile at the viewer.

"That's Francine," Blake explained after the host had left them with their menus. "Her son runs the place now, but she died about ten years ago. There's portraits of her all over the restaurant. This is one of my favorites."

"Why's that?" Yang asked.

"In most of the others, you can't see her tail, or just barely. This one, she's proud of it, and using it to get her work done." Blake looked up at the portrait and smiled. "She moved to Vale at a time in which the Faunus District didn't even really exist. She didn't care though. All she wanted to do was make good food for people."

"Good evening, ladies," a waitress said, smiling at them both. "Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"A water will be fine," Blake answered.

"Same, a water is good," Yang said.

The waitress gave a nod before dipping back into the kitchen.

"I hope you don't mind I requested a table this far back," Blake said, opening up the menu. "I really do love this painting, and I kind of forgot tonight is _kids eat free_ night here."

Yang's face lit up with a smile. "I don't know, Blake, rule number two of first dates says that you have to be run into by a tiny screaming child at least _once_."

Blake laughed at the comment, smiling back at her date. "Guess we're going to fail tonight then."

"Never say never," Yang replied, opening her own menu. "There's always a chance we'll fall victim to a child stampede."

Blake giggled, the giddy grin unable to leave her face.

"What do you recommend here?" Yang asked, flipping to another page in her menu.

"Well, I'm a sucker for seafood, so I usually get the shrimp scampi, or the swordfish alla Siciliana, or the flounder mediterranean…" Blake listed off, looking at the seafood list on her menu. "But honestly, anything is good here."

Yang furrowed her brow, looking back down at the menu. "Hmm… have you heard anything about their chicken parm?"

"Oh, that's incredible too. It's usually the only non-seafood dish I'll get here, if I'm feeling like it," Blake replied with a nod.

Yang smiled and shut her menu. "Great, that's what I'll get then."

The waitress appeared a few moments later, two glasses of water on her tray. After placing them down in-between the girls, she asked, "Are you ready to order?"

Both girls nodded at the same time. Yang waved at Blake to go first.

"I'll take the shrimp scampi," Blake said with a smile, "and Thousand Island for my salad dressing."

The waitress nodded, jotting it down on her pad. "And for you?" she asked Yang.

"I'll have the chicken parm," Yang replied.

"And what type of pasta for your side?"

"Um, spaghetti," Yang answered quickly, figuring it was a safe bet.

"And your dressing for your salad?"

"Italian," Yang answered, hoping that an _Italian_ restaurant would have Italian dressing.

Luckily, she was correct, as the waitress quickly wrote down the order. Both girls went to hand their menus to the waitress.

The waitress reached out, but stopped suddenly when she saw Yang's menu, clutched by bright yellow fingers.

She'd used her right hand without thinking.

"Sorry," the waitress muttered quickly, taking the menus and dipping away back into the kitchen.

Yang shoved her hand back into her jacket pocket, feeling her face grow bright red.

"Hey," Blake said softly. "Don't worry about it, okay?" She reached her left hand across the table, waiting to be met by Yang's right hand.

Yang hesitated for a moment before pulling her hand out of her pocket and putting it into Blake's hand. Her heart skipped a beat the moment she touched Blake's hand.

Blake let her fingers weave in and out of the yellow fingers, closing around the back of Yang's hand. "It's okay. Don't worry about them."

"Okay," Yang replied, giving a soft smile. "I'll try not to."

"Good." Blake returned the smile. "Next time you can pick the spot, and we won't have reactions like that, okay?"

"Next time," Yang hummed. "I like the sound of that."

"I do too."

Yang's heart skipped a beat. She was glad Blake was holding her robot hand- she wouldn't be able to tell how clammy the other one was.

"Did you come here a lot growing up?" Yang asked, trying to bring the conversation back to something other than her arm.

Blake nodded. "It's one of my mom's favorite places. We came here at least once a month when I was a kid. For a while it was a celebratory dinner after we got a cat adopted out. That stopped when Francine's moved locations and was closed for a while, and we never really got back into it."

"Well," Yang said, raising her glass of water in her left hand, "this can be your celebratory dinner for Mezzaluna then."

Blake smiled, raising her glass in her right hand. "To Mezzaluna."

"To Mezzaluna."

They each took a gulp of water before placing their glasses down, still holding hands.

"Can I ask you a question about your arm?" Blake asked hesitantly.

Yang nodded. "Of course. Don't worry about offending me, okay? I've heard it all, and I don't think you could ever offend me anyways."

Blake blushed at the last comment, but tried to regain her composure to ask her question. "How… how much can you feel?"

"It's like wearing a glove," Yang said, having used this explanation many times before. "I can move all parts of it, and I can feel pressure and general touch, but I can't feel textures that are smaller than a finger, moisture, or temperature."

"What do you mean by smaller than a finger?" Blake asked.

"Let me show you," Yang replied, pulling her hand away from Blake's, who regretted asking the question at once. Yang picked up a napkin off the table, and folded it in half before laying it flat again.

"I can feel the imprint of the bend," Yang explained, running her right pointer finger over the napkin, "because the bend is bigger than the width of my finger. I can only really sense pressure, so I can feel the pressure change when I go over the bend from the rest of my finger. But this?" Yang pointed at the flower decorations along the border of the napkin before placing her finger on it. "I can't tell any difference between this and the rest of the napkin. I can technically feel two 'textures'," she said, placing air quotes around the last two words, "existing, and not existing."

Blake nodded, glancing between the napkin and Yang's face. "I think I get it."

"It took a lot of getting used to," Yang said with a shrug, lifting up her water glass in her left hand again, "and a lot of new rules for myself too. Like, I don't let myself pick up glasses of liquid in my right hand, since I can't tell how slippery they are. It took a few too many shatters before it became second nature to only use my left hand on glasses." She took a long sip before putting it back down again.

Blake let out a little giggle, causing Yang to raise an eyebrow at her. "I'm just imagining you with a line of glasses, constantly forgetting to only use your left hand and dropping each one of them with your right."

Yang laughed at the thought too. "I think my bosses would have liked that better. It only would have meant one clean-up, not ten."

Blake smiled, grateful for Yang's humor about the situation. It made asking awkward questions a lot easier.

"Enough about me and old handy over here," Yang said with a wink, causing Blake to roll her eyes at the pun. "Tell me more about you and your day."

"Well, not much happened after I got back from the coffee shop," Blake admitted. "I mostly just got ready for our date."

Yang laughed. "Same! Although like, half of that time I had to spend calming my sister down. She was almost as excited as I was, and she will _literally_ bounce off the walls if excited enough."

"I know, I almost saw her do it at the cat rescue." Blake scored another laugh from Yang, causing her smile to widen even _more_ , somehow, as if her date hadn't been making her beam like the sun all evening.

When Yang finally stopped laughing, she shook her head with a smile. "She's going to want _every_ detail about tonight the moment I get back."

"Same with my mom," Blake admitted. "I'm very close with both her and my father."

"It certainly seemed like it. They seem like great people."

Blake smiled at that comment. "Yeah, they really are. I'm pretty sure the only two things they care about in this world are me and our cats, both _our_ cats and our rescues."

Yang let out a laugh. "Ever since I met your father, I just keep imagining him with a bunch of kittens all over him. It's such a funny image."

"Oh, I've seen that, with my own two eyes. It's _fantastic_."

"Ladies," a voice cut out, signaling to them that the waitress was back. "Your food."

Yang had never seen salads brought out at the same time as the entrees, but here they were, being placed in front of them on the table. After an exchange of thanks, the waitress whisked away back into the kitchen.

"That was _fast_ ," Yang said, cutting into her chicken, taking a bite. Her eyes widened as she chewed and swallowed. "Oh my Oum, that's _good_."

"I told you," Blake replied with a smile, poking her fork into her salad. "They're incredible here."

"The food isn't the only incredible thing at this table tonight." Yang winked as she took another bite of her meal.

Blake's face turned as red as the sauce on Yang's chicken as she swallowed her bite of salad. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Yang waved her off.

"Nuh uh! I still have one more left until you get to compliment me again."

"But if we're forgoing rule number 2…"

"We won't know if rule number 2 was broken until the end of the night!"

Blake rolled her eyes with a smile at Yang's comment. "Fine, fine. But the rules go out the window for the second date."

"The rules are only first date rules, so of _course_ they don't apply to the second date."

A sly grin formed on Blake's lips. "So, Yang, do tell me. Is the last first date rule a kiss?"

"Well," Yang replied with a wink, "you'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

The rest of the date had continued smoothly. They ate, talked, and laughed until dinner had been over. Blake had paid for the bill, despite Yang's protests, insisting that since she was the one to invite Yang out to dinner, she would be the one who paid. She didn't even let Yang _see_ the bill, which Yang wasn't exactly _thrilled_ about, but she was willing to let it pass.

She'd just have to get it next time.

Probably at a place less expensive than a nice Italian restaurant.

"So," Blake said, as they left the restaurant, holding Yang's left hand as they walked, "would you be interested in walking around the park together for a little while?"

"I'd love to," Yang began, "but it's getting kind of late. Well, for me anyways. I have a shift that starts tomorrow morning at 5am, which means I have to be up by 4, which means that even though it's only 8pm, it's almost my bedtime…"

"Oh, well, that's okay! I'll get you home then."

"I'm sorry," Yang said as she got into Blake's car. "Really, I really want to, but it's just not going to work tonight."

Blake placed a hand on Yang's shoulder. "It's perfectly okay. I'd rather you get enough sleep and then see you another time anyways."

Yang smiled. "Me too. I'll send you a picture of my schedule for the week when I get home, and you can see if it matches up with any of your free time, and we'll plan for whatever works for both of us? My treat this time."

Blake nodded and returned the smile. "That sounds like a plan." She moved her hand from Yang's shoulder, putting her keys into the ignition. "Now, let's get you home. You have a sister and a cat to spill all the details about our date to."

Yang laughed. "Mez is such a good listener. She just sits there and makes little cat noises at me while I talk to her. _Way_ better of a listener than Ruby. Don't tell her I said that though."

"Your sister or the cat?"

"Both."

Blake let out a string of giggles as she turned onto the main road. She couldn't even remember the last time anyone had made her laugh as much as Yang had done in one night.

* * *

Blake had walked Yang up to her apartment, holding hands the entire elevator ride up. Once outside the door to apartment 636, they stopped and turned to each other.

"So," Yang said.

"So," Blake replied.

"I get to tell you about the last rule now."

"Oh?" Blake smiled. "Do tell."

Yang tugged Blake closer to her by her held hand, causing Blake to let out a little squeak.

"The rule is… we kiss on the first date, if you want to," Yang whispered, smiling softly down at Blake.

Blake smiled, closing her eyes and leaning in.

Her lips stopped when they met Yang's. Warm, soft, gentle, but explosive. Like a thousand fireworks had gone off in the small space in between them. Blake felt Yang's hand drop from hers, and her arms wrapping around the back of Yang's waist. Blake lifted up her own arms, hooking them behind Yang's neck and pulling her in closer, kissing her more passionately.

It was not a moment that either of them wanted to end.

* * *

 **AN** : If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	10. Chapter 10

"Soooo?" Ruby asked the moment Yang walked through the door.

"So what?" Yang replied with a smirk.

"How was your date?" Ruby demanded, practically leaping out of her spot on the futon.

Yang's smirk turned into a large smile. " _Incredible_."

" _Ahh!_ " Ruby exclaimed, tackling her sister in a hug. "I'm so happy for you! Tell me everything! Where did you go? What did you talk about? Did you _kiss_?"

" _Ruby_ ," Yang chided, trying to push her away. "I have to go to sleep soon, but I'll come and sit you with for a little bit, okay?"

"Aww, you do?"

Yang nodded. "My shift at Scholar's starts at 5 tomorrow. I gotta be up by 4. But I can give _some_ details."

Ruby scurried back towards the futon, patting the spot next to her for Yang to sit down. Unfortunately, Mezzaluna heard the patting and took the cue to sit next to Ruby instead.

Yang burst out laughing as Mezzaluna took her seat. She shook her head, opting to sit on the floor next to the futon instead.

"So," Yang began, "we went to this Italian restaurant in the Faunus District, Francine's…"

* * *

Blake slipped through the front door to her apartment, hanging up her coat and placing her keys on the table.

"Everything go alright?" Kali asked from the couch.

"It was fantastic!" Blake responded with a smile, taking a seat on the other end of the couch.

"Why are you back so early then?"

"Oh, yeah," Blake chuckled. "I forgot it's not even 9. Yang has a shift tomorrow morning that starts at 5am, so I brought her back to her apartment after dinner."

"Oh, okay," Kali sighed in relief. "I'm glad everything went well!"

Blake smiled. "Me too."

Her scroll chirped, and she looked to see a message from Yang, which included a screenshot of her schedule for the next two weeks.

"So, tell me." Kali put the TV on mute. "Did you _kiss_?"

" _Mooooom_ ," Blake groaned, giving her mother a gentle shove away. "Don't you think the details of my dating life are something that'd be awkward to talk about with my mom?"

"I mean, I didn't expect you to go _that_ far on the first date, but if you did, don't tell me about it."

" _Mom!_ We did _not_! I just told you I took her home after dinner!"

Blake's cheeks were glowing bright red. She couldn't believe her mother had just joked about her sleeping with Yang on their first date.

Kali let out a chuckle. "If you say so."

"We _did_ kiss," Blake admitted, trying to take her mind off her mother's joke. "Right outside of her apartment, before she went inside."

Kali leaned forward, smiling. "Go ahead, gush it out."

Blake smiled back at her mother.

"Well…"

* * *

"I _knew_ I heard you two outside the door!" Ruby exclaimed. Yang had just finished her story of their date, ending with the kiss outside of the front door. "It got quiet after a moment, so I decided it was best to just wait…"

"Good choice Rubes," Yang said with a laugh. "I would _not_ have been happy if you'd burst in on our first kiss."

"Which is why I didn't!" Ruby said proudly, crossing her arms with a smirk.

"Or you were just too comfortable on the futon."

" _Maybe_ …"

Yang let out another laugh. She took a glance at her scroll, looking at the time. "Well, I gotta get some sleep. Or at least try to. I'm still filled with a lot of energy after all of that."

"Do you have a second date planned?" Ruby asked as Yang stood up.

"Yes and no. We have to figure out a time that works for us both- Oh! I was supposed to send her my schedule!" Yang pulled out her scroll and started tapping away. "There, done. But yeah, we plan on having a second date, we just don't know when yet."

" _Oooh_ , this is so _exciting_!" Ruby exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I can't believe my sister got a date!"

" _Hey_!" Yang replied, reaching down to ruffle Ruby's hair. "I still have my romantic side!"

"Yeah, but no one's seen it in _years_. I thought Yang 'Ladykiller' Xiao Long was gone!"

Yang laughed in response. "I don't think Blake would call me a ladykiller after the amount of times she got me all flustered."

"Wow, you, _flustered_?"

"I'm going to bed!" Yang spun on her heel, heading towards her bedroom. "Goodnight Ruby."

"Goodnight Yang."

* * *

"...and then I got back home," Blake finished.

Kali had been smiling the entire time as she listened to her daughter talk about and gush over her evening with Yang. "It sounds like you both had a really good time."

"For sure," Blake said with a nod, leaning back in her seat on the couch. "Now we just have to figure out a time for a second date. She sent me her schedule so I could figure out when it would fit in with mine."

"Second date already, huh?" Kali asked with a smirk.

"Honestly? If I could, I'd go see her again tomorrow."

Kali shook her head and smiled. She had a feeling this wasn't the last she was going to hear of Blake's dates with Yang Xiao Long.

* * *

A few days had passed since the date. Yang and Blake still hadn't been able to find time for a second date. Yang had found out the following morning that someone at Scholar's had quit both school and work and left Vale entirely, leaving a bunch of shifts needing to be filled. Yang was the only one capable of filling them until they were able to hire a replacement, since all of the other employees were also students.

She was _exhausted_. She had next to no free time, found herself working back-to-back shifts at Scholar's before having to head to Downtown Diner. She slept any moment she was home, leaving any communication between her and Blake to breaks at work.

Yang had felt awful about it, and had apologized to Blake many times. Blake assured her over and over that it was completely okay, and they could have their date after Yang's schedule calmed down a bit.

There was a nagging voice in the back of Yang's head that told her that her schedule was _never_ going to calm down, but she tried her best to silence it. It was always harder to stay positive when she was exhausted, but she was still trying her best. It was a skill she had acquired two years ago, but it hadn't been this difficult since right after the accident.

Friday night, however, was one thing Yang couldn't keep a positive outlook for.

She'd requested to take the night off, knowing her exhaustion wouldn't be good for delivery runs. Her request had been denied, unsurprisingly. Instead, she chugged extra coffee at her shift at Scholar's before heading off to University Pizza, praying it would be enough.

* * *

"Yang!" the manager called the moment Yang walked through the door of the pizza shop. "The boss wants to speak to you before you head out tonight."

Yang took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to regain her composure. Having a conversation with _Cardin_ was literally the last thing she wanted to do today.

"Yang?" the manager asked.

Yang's eyes shot open, lavender glinted with red. "Going," she said sharply, making a beeline for the office.

She knocked once on the open door. " _Mr. Winchester_?" she asked through gritted teeth.

The man looked up from his desk. A grin formed on his face, triggering a fight or flight response in Yang. "Ah, Yang, glad to see you _finally_ made it."

"What do you mean? I'm right on time."

"To be early is to be on time, and to be on time is to be late."

"I'm scheduled at 7pm tonight, so I came in at 7pm exactly," Yang said, the anger rising already. "I'm not coming in early to do unpaid work."

"Please, come in and sit down, Yang. And close the door behind you."

Yang did as she was told, closing the door and sitting across from him at the desk. "Why'd you call me in here?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

"I've been reviewing the numbers of our delivery drivers," Cardin said, shuffling a few forms in his hands until he placed one in front of Yang. "Your efficiency is down. It's crucial to my business that it is addressed and fixed."

Yang looked down at the paperwork, squinting at it. "I've hit the quotas exactly," she replied flatly.

"Not good enough. You need to be performing above quotas."

Yang looked back up at him, glaring. "I do every delivery I can. I drive the speed limit there and back exactly, every single time. What else could I possibly do?"

"There's your problem," he said with a smirk. "Stop driving the speed limit. Not fast enough."

 _Slam!_

Cardin jumped in his seat as a metal arm was placed on the table between them, detached from the rest of its body.

"The last time I went above the speed limit," Yang growled through gritted teeth, feeling as if she were on fire, " _this happened_. You _know_ that."

"Don't you think it's time to move on?" Cardin asked, nudging the arm back towards her. "Obviously you've adjusted well."

"My father is _dead_ , Cardin."

" _Mr. Winchester_ ," he corrected.

 _Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!_

"Unprofessional," he scoffed at the sound of Yang's ringing scroll. "You should have turned that off before your meeting with me."

Yang ignored him, pulling it out of her pocket with her left hand. A call from Ruby. "I have to take this," she said, standing up.

" _Excuse me_?" he asked.

The vibrating stopped. Yang had missed the call. She slipped the scroll back into her pocket, picking up her arm from the table in her left hand and attaching it to the metal stump on her right arm. "I'll be going to do delivery runs now. So I can hit my quota."

 _Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!_

Two calls from Ruby.

Something was wrong.

"Ruby? What's wrong?" Yang answered immediately.

"Yang! You need to come home, right now."

"What's wrong? I'm on my way."

"If you leave this office," Cardin snapped, standing up behind his desk, "you're fired."

"Fine then," Yang snapped back, pulling the scroll away from her face. "You're going to get someone killed. I refuse to be a part of it."

She spun on her heel, opened the door, and slammed it shut behind her. She put her scroll to her ear again.

"What was that?" Ruby asked.

"Don't worry about it. What's going on?"

"He's here."

"Who?"

"Uncle Qrow."

* * *

 **AN** : Sorry for the shorter chapter today folks! It's bookended by two much longer chapters, but each are important enough that they really shouldn't have this filler bit stuffed with them together, so I decided it was best to do a shorter chapter regardless. We are roughly at the halfway point in this story content wise- I'm still not sure how many chapters it'll be cut up into. I wanted to pump this one out early so I can get a head start on tomorrow's longer chapter, so we'll be back to the usual upload times tomorrow.

If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	11. Chapter 11

**AN** : Author's note at the beginning today folks. This chapter ended up being _much_ angstier than I had anticipated, but that's on me for assuming I could write a primarily fluffy fic. Apparently I can't! Oops! Instead of describing this as primarily fluff with a bit of angst, I'd describe it from here on out as half fluff, half angst. That being said, this acts as a bit of a warning for some darker themes this chapter, which have all been touched upon in previous chapters, but discussed much more in detail here. I'm bumping up the rating of this fic slightly, simply due to the darker turn that it's taken, but this chapter and the one after will be the peak of the angst in this story (hopefully). On that note, enjoy!

* * *

 _He's here._

 _Who?._

 _Uncle Qrow._

Ruby's words played over and over again in Yang's mind as she made the short trip between University Pizza and the apartment. She had been filled with overwhelming energy for the first time in two years. She didn't know if it was positive or negative energy, but it filled every cell of her being.

 _He's here._

 _Who?_

 _Uncle Qrow._

The moment she parked in her spot, she leapt off her bike and sprinted into the building. She slammed the button outside the elevator repeatedly, as if somehow that would make it come faster. She needed to get there, and get there _now_.

 _He's here._

 _Who?_

 _Uncle Qrow._

Yang slammed the button labeled with a six the moment she entered the elevator. She was sweating. She tore off her jacket, shoving it into her backpack as the doors closed and the elevator began to go up. It wasn't fast enough.

 _He's here._

 _Who?_

 _Uncle Qrow_.

She realized she had never even taken off her bike helmet.

 _He's here._

 _Who?_

 _Uncle Qrow_.

The elevator door opened as she pulled it off, holding it in her right hand. She broke off in a sprint again, running past numbers of apartments on both sides of her.

 _He's here._

 _Who?_

 _Uncle Qrow_.

610\. 617. 622. 630.

 _He's here._

 _Who?_

 _Uncle Qrow_.

Yang skidded to a stop outside of apartment number 636.

 _He's here._

 _Who?_

 _Uncle Qrow_.

She could hear him.

 _He's here._

 _Who?_

 _Uncle Qrow_.

"Please, Ruby, just tell me. What's going on?"

"We have to wait for Yang," Ruby replied, her voice cutting clear through the door. She was on the verge of tears.

 _He's here._

 _Who?_

 _Uncle Qrow_.

Yang shoved her keys into the lock and turned.

* * *

"Please, Ruby, just tell me. What's going on?" Qrow begged, sitting on the futon in the living room, his head in his hands.

Ruby was pacing back and forth in front of the door. "We have to wait for Yang," she repeated, for the twentieth time in the last ten minutes. "We-"

The sound of keys in a lock.

Qrow stood up.

The door opened, and she entered.

" _Yang_ ," he said in a loud whisper, his eyes gravitating from her watering lilac eyes to her arm.

Her bright yellow robot arm.

" _Yang_ ," he repeated, his voice shaking as he took a step forward. "Wh-what happened to you?"

Yang threw herself forward, hugging her uncle tightly and locking her arms behind his neck. Tears flowed down her face, which she buried into his shoulder. He was stunned and still confused, but tried to return the hug as best he could. Ruby stared at them both, a deep sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Yang muttered between sobs as she clung close to him. "I'm so, so sorry."

* * *

Qrow sat on the futon, his head in his hands, trembling. "Can someone _please_ tell me what happened? All of it, everything, _please_."

Yang had calmed down. She was sitting across from him in one of the chairs from the kitchen table that she had dragged over. Ruby handed her a glass of water, before pulling over the other chair to join her.

"It was two months after you left," Ruby said as she sat down. "A month before my 18th birthday."

"Dad and I…" Yang said slowly, placing her water down on the ground. "We got into a fight. It was stupid, so so stupid." She was trembling again.

Ruby placed her hand on Yang's knee, causing her to look at her younger sister. Ruby nodded, trying to stop her own eyes from watering as she attempted to channel her strength to Yang.

 _You can do this. It wasn't your fault_.

* * *

" _I_ _ **cannot**_ _believe you!" Tai yelled, his hands gripping the wheel tightly._

" _I don't understand why it's such a big deal! I wasn't drinking! I was just dancing and having fun! I wasn't hurting anyone!"_

" _You snuck into a bar with a_ _ **fake ID**_ _," Tai hissed. "It's a_ _ **huge**_ _deal!"_

" _All I wanted to do was dance!"_

" _And why should I believe that?"_

" _Because I was there for two hours before you showed up! If I wanted to drink, don't you think I would have tried before that?"_

" _And what would have happened if the bartender called the police instead of me?"_

" _I asked for a water! He had no reason to call anyone!"_

" _You're_ _ **underage**_ _!"_

" _Are people under 21 banned from drinking water now?"_

" _You're grounded, for six months."_

" _You can't do that! I'm twenty years old!"_

" _If you live in my house, I don't care if you're six or sixty. I can ground you all I want."_

 _Yang threw her hands up in the air. "I can't believe you."_

" _You're one to talk."_

 _Yang didn't respond. She leaned her right arm against the inner part of the car door, resting her head in her hand._

 _Tai was grumbling to himself, the specific words he was muttering inaudible to Yang's ears. He looked up at the stoplight coming up again._

 _It was yellow._

 _He pushed down on the gas, speeding up towards the light as it turned red. His grip was so tight on the wheel, his knuckles were pure white._

 _ **BAM!**_

* * *

Yang took a deep breath before continuing again. "I had gotten busted for being in a bar underage. I wasn't drinking, but I wasn't supposed to be there. I was just there to dance, have fun… The bartender recognized me, and knew Dad, so he called him. He came and picked me up, and we fought the entire car ride."

"He was angry. He started speeding. He ran a red light..." Yang swallowed, trying to find her words.

"No," Qrow said, his eyes widening. "No, that can't be true. He.. he never… he never sped, not since Summer… Not since she…"

"But he did," Yang replied, her voice breaking as the tears came back again. "He did. And we got hit. Head on."

There were several beats of silence, Yang trying to wipe away her tears with her left hand before speaking again.

"I… I woke up in the hospital. My arm was gone and they told me he… He…"

* * *

 _The first thing Yang saw was pure white. It was bright, so bright._

 _There was the sound of steady beeping._

" _Yang!" Ruby's voice broke through the beeping. "Yang!"_

 _Yang blinked, focusing on the world around her._

" _Where…" she gasped, her throat dry and raspy._

" _You're in the hospital," Ruby said._

 _Yang turned her head towards the sound of the voice. Ruby was sitting on the left side of her bed, holding Yang's left hand tightly._

" _What happened?" Yang whispered._

" _You and Dad were in a car crash," Ruby replied softly._

" _Where is he?"_

 _Silence._

" _Ruby." Her throat felt like it was on fire. "Where is Dad?"_

 _There were tears in Ruby's eyes. "I'm sorry."_

" _No," Yang shook her head. "No, no, that's not possible."_

" _Let me call the doctors," Ruby said, standing up, trying to hold herself together. "They'll want to know you're awake."_

 _Tears were streaming down Yang's face. She lifted up her right hand to wipe them away._

 _But it wasn't there._

 _Yang's eyes widened at the sight of the bandaged wrapped around what was left of her right bicep._

 _It was a stump._

" _Ruby," Yang cried, "where's my arm?"_

 _Ruby stuck her head out of the hospital room, waving someone down._

" _Where's my arm? What happened to my arm?"_

 _Yang was sobbing as the doctor and nurse rushed into the room. She was shaking uncontrollably, still staring at the stump._

 _The nurse released some medicine through her IV._

" _Ruby… Ruby…" Yang muttered, looking around, panic in her eyes as they continued drooping._

" _Ruby…"_

* * *

"It was instant," Ruby said, causing both Yang and Qrow to look at her. "That's what the police told me. He died instantly. Yang hit her head on the dashboard, and her right arm got crushed, but she was otherwise unharmed."

"I got lucky," Yang added. "Really, really lucky. I should have died too."

"Don't say that," Qrow muttered, shaking his head slowly, avoiding eye contact.

Yang shook her head in return. "It's true. The doctors said it was a miracle I had survived, with no brain damage, and only a lost arm. I should be dead too, or braindead, at the least."

Qrow didn't respond. His head was in his hands again, unable to look up at his nieces. He just kept slowly shaking his head, over and over.

"Ruby was still 17." Yang reached over, grabbing her sister's hand. "They wanted to take her away from me. We fought, and fought, and fought, from my hospital bed, until they let her stay."

Ruby nodded. "Yang and I were able to convince them that taking me away for a month was going to do twenty times more harm than good. It took until practically my birthday to convince them it was the right thing to do. Once they were off our backs, we had to figure out how we were going to live now."

"We had enough money to last us a couple of months," Yang continued. "We got kicked out of the house. The day I got out of the hospital I signed the lease for this apartment."

"That bastard landlord kicked you out?" Qrow asked through gritted teeth.

"He waited until we had a new place and helped us sell or move the stuff we had," Ruby cut in, trying to calm her uncle down. "Dad was the one on the lease, and he knew we wouldn't be able to keep paying the rent. He did what he could for us, but there was only so much."

"We only had enough money to last us a few months in the new apartment without me working, but nowhere would hire me. I had to drop out of trade school. I had one arm, and I couldn't do any jobs that would take someone with no experience." Yang's eyes lowered to the ground. "I didn't know what to do."

"I was going to drop out of school and start working full time," Ruby said. "Yang kept telling me no over and over, she would find something. Money was running thin. We were at our lowest point. Then Penny reached out to me about a company she'd been working with at Atlas Academy. They were looking for people to test the prototype robot prosthetic they had been working on."

* * *

" _Penny?" Yang asked, sitting down next to her sister in front of the laptop. "You wanted to talk to me?"_

 _The orange-haired girl nodded on the other end of the call. "I have something that will help you!"_

" _What's that?"_

" _There's a company here in Atlas that my mechanical engineering professor works for. They specialize in robot prosthetics."_

" _I've heard about them. They're incredibly expensive though. I could never afford it."_

" _I know!" Penny exclaimed. "Which is why I talked to my professor!"_

" _You did what?" both Yang and Ruby asked at the same time._

" _She told me they are looking for someone to beta-test the new model! They give their beta testers free models! I gave her your name, and she said she would pass it on to people on their beta team tomorrow!"_

 _Yang blinked. "I can't afford to go all the way to Atlas…"_

" _They will come to you in Vale!"_

" _What are the chances she'll get picked?" Ruby asked._

" _Pretty high. They have not been able to find any beta-testers for the new model of the arm, only the leg."_

 _Yang sat and stared for a few more moments before a tear came to her eye._

" _Penny… thank you."_

* * *

"They came out to Vale and performed surgery to attached the metal cap," Yang explained, twisting off her arm with her left hand to show the metal cap that separated the flesh of her upper arm to the prosthetic. "They connected some of my nerves into the cap, which lets me use the arm. It took me another two months to completely recover and adapt to the arm. They paid our rent during that time, and gave us money for groceries and other needs. We were able to make the money we already had stretch a bit longer than it should have."

"I kept up my scholarships and picked up a job at school," Ruby explained. "It wasn't much, and it still isn't much, but it helped at the time. We got all of our furniture second hand, and as soon as Yang was cleared to work by the doctors, she had three jobs."

" _Three_?" Qrow asked, his jaw dropping open in shock.

Yang nodded. "I waitress at a diner full time, work part-time as a barista at a coffee shop, and drive delivery for a pizza place on the weekends. We needed all three to stay afloat. Well…" She looked down at the ground, trembling again as anger flooded through her at the memory of what had happened just an hour before at the pizza shop. "Two jobs, now."

Ruby looked at her sister. "What?"

"I got fired for leaving work to come here," Yang said quietly.

" _What_?" Qrow and Ruby asked together.

Yang wove her left hand in the air, which was still holding her detached right arm. "Forget about it. We'll deal with that later." She turned back towards Qrow. "That's the story."

"So it's been that way ever since?" Qrow asked.

Yang nodded as she attached her arm again. "Almost two years since I got the arm. Around Christmas time."

Qrow was silent for a few moments, putting his head back into his hands. "This all really happened… He's really gone…"

"I'm sorry Uncle Qrow," Yang said in a loud whisper. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Ruby insisted, grabbing her sister's hand. "This wasn't your fault. We've been through this."

" _I'm_ sorry," Qrow replied before Yang could say anything else. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. I should have been here. To help you two."

"You had an important job to do," Ruby replied. "You didn't know. You had no way of knowing."

"That doesn't mean I shouldn't have been here." Qrow shook his head. "Tai…" he whispered, closing his eyes as he dropped his head into his hands. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Qrow was pacing, back and forth across the living room, not saying a word. Yang and Ruby still sat in their chairs, Ruby still clutching her sister's hand tightly.

"Right now, today, yesterday, tomorrow, how are you two doing?" he asked finally, stopping his pacing in front of them.

"Life's been worse," Yang said with a shrug, her voice falling flat. "I work next to nonstop. I haven't had a full day off from all of my jobs, other than Ruby's birthday, in months."

"School's going well," Ruby added. "I have another year and a half left, and then I graduate."

"I'm going to have to get another delivery job." Yang sighed, releasing her hand from Ruby's and putting her head into her hands. "I've tried to find a better place ever since I got the job. The owner is a creep and an asshole. Nowhere will give me as good of a setup though." A tear fell from her eye onto the ground. "I'm so tired."

"Don't worry about getting another job," Qrow replied sharply.

Yang shook her head as she sat back up straight. "That's not an option."

"Yes, it is. I'm here now. You two aren't on your own anymore."

Yang blinked, words failing her.

The idea of Qrow coming back and helping them… it had never occurred to her. Not once, in the last two years, had the vision of the way out of this hell been with Qrow. It had always been with Ruby finishing school and getting a decent job. They'd never talked about Qrow as an option. He'd been an unpredictable force all their lives, with his job whisking him away on top secret missions at a moment's notice. Why would she have thought of him, the human embodiment of instability, during the most unstable part of their lives?

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. "You're going to get shipped off on another mission soon, I bet."

Qrow shook his head. "I'll go into the office and give them my resignation tomorrow. I'll find something nearby and get us a better place to stay. I've got more than enough to keep us afloat in the meantime. Don't worry about a third job."

Yang shook her head. "You don't have to throw away your career for us. Don't do that to yourself."

"I'm not throwing anything away," Qrow snapped back. "I never should have left in the first place. I should have been here. You should have been able to contact me."

"That's not your fault," Yang repeated.

"That doesn't matter!" Qrow collapsed onto the futon. "Don't you get it? I'm your uncle. I helped raise you two. I promised both Summer and Tai I'd always be there for you two… and I failed."

"You didn't fail-"

"Yes I did!" Qrow was shaking now, anger rising in his voice. "I… I'm not going to keep failing." His voice cracked, each word struggling to get out of his mouth. "I'm going to do what I can… to make it right…"

"There's nothing to make right," Yang insisted. " _You_ didn't do anything wrong."

"Please," Qrow said, tears streaming down his face. "Please, just let me do this. Let me help you. I don't know what else to do. My best friend has been dead for two years and I didn't even know. You lost your arm and the two of you have been living in poverty and barely getting by, and I didn't even know. I don't know what else to do. _Please_."

Yang stood up from her chair, her eyes closed as she breathed in deeply. "I need to clear my head," she said as she opened her eyes. "I'll be back."

"Yang-" Qrow tried to start again, but Ruby shook her head at him. He sank back into his seat without another word.

Yang ignored the comment regardless, picking up her helmet and backpack from the ground as she walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

"Let her take the time she needs," Ruby said, letting out a long sigh. "Today has been a lot."

"You're telling me," Qrow sighed, putting his head in his hands again.

* * *

Yang already found herself sitting on her bike again, her scroll in her hand. There was only one person she wanted to see right now.

 _New Message to: Blake Belladonna_

 _What are you doing right now?_

A reply popped up on the screen immediately.

 _Nothing, I'm just at home with the cats. Why?_

 _Can I come over? I need to get out of here._

 _Yes, of course._

Yang slid her scroll back into her pocket, sliding her helmet over her head, and starting up her motorcycle.

This time, a different name was repeating in her mind.

 _Blake Belladonna_.

* * *

 **AN:** If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	12. Chapter 12

Blake paced in the kitchen, glancing nervously out the window that faced the front parking lot of the plaza she and her family lived in. Her parents were out for the night, enjoying their monthly date night. Shroud sat on the kitchen counter, watching Blake curiously.

 _What's going on?_

The question had plagued Blake's mind since she had gotten the first message from Yang. Yang was supposed to be working, but now she was heading for Blake's apartment instead.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

The knot in Blake's stomach felt heavier with each glance out the window.

She turned, continuing pacing, her mind racing at a million miles a minute.

" _Mrrp_?"

Blake turned and looked at Shroud, who seemed annoyed that Blake had turned without petting her.

"I'm sorry," Blake told the cat, stepping forward to pet the top of her head. "I'm just stressed."

" _Mrrrrr_ …" Shroud pushed her head into Blake's hand, before letting out a long purr.

Blake glanced over her shoulder at the window.

 _Yellow_.

Blake quickly turned away from Shroud, causing the cat to stop purring instantly and leap off the counter. Blake didn't really seem to notice though. Her eyes were stuck on the bright yellow bike that had just pulled into the parking lot.

She spun on her heel, sprinting for the front door, snatching her keys on the way out.

Something was wrong.

 _Very, very wrong._

* * *

By the time Blake had made it down the stairs, Yang had just entered the main lobby for the apartments that rested on top of the shops in Kuana Plaza. The moment Blake saw her, she noticed one thing immediately.

Her eyes.

Lavender irises were hidden among bright red cracking throughout the white, extremely puffy and stained with tears.

Yang had been crying.

Blake ran forward and gave her a huge hug, holding her close. They stayed that way for several minutes, embracing in silence.

Finally, Yang slowly pulled away, fiddling with the helmet in her hand. "Can we go upstairs?"

Blake nodded, grabbing Yang's free hand and leading her back up the stairs and down the hall to her apartment. She opened the door, leading her inside and sitting her down on the couch. Yang dropped her helmet and her backpack next to the couch.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked softly, trying to look Yang in the face.

Yang's eyes were staring down, at the ground, avoiding eye contact. "No."

Blake placed her hand gently on top of Yang's right hand, which was resting on her knee. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Yang nodded slowly, taking in a deep breath. "My uncle came back. He… he-"

Blake nodded, giving Yang's hand a squeeze. "Take your time. Go easy on yourself."

Yang looked up at Blake, her eyes filled with tears. She took another deep breath, wiping away her tears with her left hand. "He's like, a secret agent for the government. I don't know the specifics. He can't ever tell us. He goes on missions where we can't communicate with him at all. This time, he was gone for just over two years." She closed her eyes again, taking in another deep breath.

 _Two years_.

Blake knew where this was going. She squeezed again, letting Yang know she still had her support.

"I'm- I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you right now," Yang said suddenly, trembling as she spoke, closing her eyes.

"Yang-"

"No, it isn't fair to you. We've only been on one date and I'm suddenly dumping my entire life story on you-"

" _Yang_." Blake grabbed Yang's chin with her free hand and pointed it towards her face.

Yang's eyes shot open, lilac meeting amber.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"But I-"

"No buts. Listen to me, okay?"

Yang nodded.

"Is it conventional? No. But what part of our relationship has been conventional?"

There was a beat of silence.

"Exactly," Blake continued. "Life doesn't play by the made-up rules of dating. You need support right now, and I'm here to give whatever I can. I don't care that we've only been on one date. We've been talking for nearly a month, and regardless of how long we've been dating, I've been your friend long enough to want to help you in any way I can. So that's what I'm going to do, okay?"

Yang nodded again.

Blake finally dropped her hand from Yang's face. "Go on. However slow you need. But you aren't allowed to apologize for it."

Yang took another deep breath before she spoke again. "He didn't know about the accident. He didn't know Dad is dead and I lost my arm. I don't even know how he figured out where our apartment is. But there he was, sitting on our futon, tonight. Crying while we told him. And I… While we were telling him… I… I just kept having… flashbacks… And I… I can't… I can't handle them anymore-"

Blake pulled in the stammering Yang close for a hug, cutting her off. Her voice turned into sobs as she pressed her face into Blake's neck. Blake rubbed her back gently, holding her close.

"It's okay," Blake said over and over. "It's okay. I'm right here, right now. This is real. You're here, right now. Nowhere else. It's okay. You're okay."

* * *

Some time later, Yang was ready to talk again. The pair had readjusted on the couch so that they were sitting completely up against each other. Blake wrapped an arm around Yang's shoulders, holding her close. Yang was snuggled up into Blake's side, her legs beside her on the couch.

"All this time, and I only ever thought about what I'd have to say to him when he came back. I thought about what he would say back. I thought he would blame me in the same way I blamed myself. I never expected him to blame himself."

"He blames himself?" Blake asked, trying to full the focus away from Yang blaming herself.

Yang nodded. "I don't get it. I really don't. Maybe Ruby could understand it better, but… it _was_ my fault."

 _Well, that didn't work._

"No." Blake cut her off. "No, Yang. No it wasn't."

"I'm so tired," was Yang's only reply, burying her head into Blake's side. "So so tired."

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Blake asked, running her fingers through Yang's hair.

"I don't know. I don't know what I want to do. I don't know anything."

"Okay," Blake replied, continuing to try to soothe her. "That's okay. We can figure it out together, okay? You aren't alone. I can help you."

"Okay."

* * *

Yang was laying on the couch, her head in Blake's lap. Her hands were pressed against her face, covering her eyes.

"I don't know what to do," she said at last, pulling her hands away from her eyes. They were still extremely puffy, but didn't have any tears in them at the moment.

"That's okay," Blake replied with a nod. "What are your options?"

"I don't know."

"Okay." Blake took a deep breath, thinking. "What if we go through one problem at a time, okay?"

"Okay."

"Tonight, do you want to stay here?"

"I think so."

"Okay. I'll text my parents and let them know."

"Thank you."

"Of course, Yang," Blake said softly, pulling out her scroll. She selected the group message she had with her parents before beginning to type.

 _Yang is here. She's staying the night. She's having a breakdown and needed to get out of her apartment. Helping her right now, might not respond right away._

She sent the message and put her scroll back down. "Okay, I told them. You should text your sister and let her know, so she doesn't get worried."

Yang nodded. "Yeah, you're right." She pulled her scroll out of her pocket. She had an unopened message from Ruby.

 _When you see this, please just text me and let me know where you went. Neither me or Uncle Qrow will go after you, I just want to make sure you're okay._

Yang began typing a reply.

 _I'm at Blake's. I'm staying the night. I need time to figure everything out. I'm sorry. I'll be back tomorrow morning._

 _Okay. I love you._

Ruby had replied instantly, as if she were still waiting for the response by her scroll.

 _I love you too Rubes._

Yang locked her scroll and tossed it aside. She looked back up at Blake. "Okay, now what?"

"Are you working tomorrow morning?" Blake asked.

"At the diner, yeah."

"Do you have the option of calling in sick?"

Yang was quiet for a moment. "Yeah. I have some sick days. I never use them though."

"You should," Blake said gently, running her fingers through Yang's hair again. "You should take the time to reset yourself and talk with your family tomorrow."

"Okay." Yang reached for her scroll again, sending a message to her manager at the diner.

 _Hey Paul, I'm having a bit of a family emergency and need to call in sick for tomorrow. I'll be back on Monday for my regular shift. Sorry for the short notice_.

There were a few moments before a reply popped up on Yang's screen.

 _Okay, I hope everything is okay. See you Monday._

"Done," Yang said, locking her scroll again.

"Good." Blake continued playing with Yang's hair. "I'm going to try to talk you through some other issues, but if it gets to be too much or the flashbacks start coming back, tell me and we'll stop right away, okay?"

Yang nodded, looking up at her. "Okay."

"Was your uncle blaming himself the only thing he did?"

Yang shook her head. "No. He came up with this whole plan. He wants to quit his job so he can stay in Vale with us instead and help us."

Blake nodded as Yang spoke. She wasn't exactly sure how that was a _bad_ thing, but she knew better than to ask that right now. "Do you want him to do that?"

"I don't know. I feel guilty. I don't want him to throw away his whole career because I'm working three jobs now, but I also don't want to work all the time anymore. I'm so tired."

"I know," Blake replied. "I know." She thought for a few moments, trying to choose her next words carefully. "I don't think that was his only reasoning for wanting to quit though."

"What do you mean?"

"He left on a mission and lost his… brother?" Blake asked.

Yang shook her head. "Best friend, but not brother."

"Best friend," Blake corrected herself as she continued. "He left on a mission and lost his best friend and found out his nieces were hurting. He's probably afraid that if he leaves again, when he comes back, one or both of you two will be gone too."

Yang was quiet for a few moments. Blake squeezed her hand, prompting Yang to say, "I'm okay. Just thinking."

"Okay. Just making sure."

The silence lasted a few minutes.

"You're probably right," Yang said at last.

"I can't say for sure," Blake replied, "but that's how I'd feel if I were in his shoes."

Yang nodded. "Me too."

"I have another question for you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Do either your sister or your uncle know about your flashbacks?"

"Ruby knows I've had them before," she admitted, "but I don't know if she knows they were happening just then."

"Do you think it'd be a good idea to tell them about it tomorrow?"

"I don't know."

"Okay. Is there something that scares you about it?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to tell me?"

"Yes. It's just hard."

"It's okay," Blake said with a gentle smile, continuing to gently play with Yang's hair. "Take your time."

* * *

Yang and Blake had moved themselves to Blake's bedroom. Her parents had come home, and they'd opted to go talk on Blake's bed instead to keep some privacy. Yang had finally gotten to meet Gambol and Shroud, who were now curled up in each of the girls' laps. Yang was stroking the fur of a purring Gambol, while Blake was busy giving Shroud attention.

"I think I know why it scares me."

Blake looked up, nodding at Yang. "Go on."

"I'm afraid that if I talk about my flashbacks, even subjectively, they'll come back again."

"You're talking to me about them right now, yes?"

Yang nodded.

"And are you having them right now?"

"It's different. You don't know the details, so they're fully subjective with you. But when I talk to them about it, they know, and I know, and then suddenly I'm just… there…" Her eyes were getting glossy, her lip quivering slightly.

* * *

" _You're one to talk."_

 _Yellow. Red._

 _ **BAM**_ _._

* * *

Blake pushed the cat off her lap, moving to sit right next to Yang. "Hey," she said, grabbing Yang's hand. "I'm right here. You're right here." She squeezed her hand. "Look at me, okay? Right here."

Yang blinked, looking into Blake's eyes. Amber. She was here, on Blake's bed, not in the intersection.

 _Blake_.

"I'm sorry," Yang whispered, tears pooling in her eyes.

Blake pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. You don't have anything to be sorry for. It's not your fault. It's okay."

Yang gripped Blake tightly, letting herself melt into her arms as the tears began to flow again. "I… I just… want it to stop."

"I know," Blake whispered back. "I know."

"I'm so tired."

"Hey," Blake said softly, pulling back slightly and pushing Yang's chin up. "Do you want to try and get some sleep and talk more about it tomorrow?"

Yang nodded. "I think so."

"Okay," Blake glanced around her room. "I have some clothes that might fit you, if you want something different to wear to bed."

"That'd be nice."

Blake planted a gentle kiss on Yang's forehead before releasing her entirely and standing up from the bed. She walked over to her dresser, digging around for a few moments. She pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that was just a little too big for her to wear normally.

"These should fit," she said, handing them to Yang. "The bathroom's across the hall. Is there anything else you need?"

Yang shook her head. "I think this is good."

"Okay," Blake replied with a nod. "I'll be waiting."

* * *

Yang returned to Blake's bedroom to find her sitting on the bed, two cats in her lap. She was petting them both, one with each hand. Yang couldn't help but smile at the sight, standing in the doorway for a few extra moments.

"You can come in, you know," Blake said, not looking up from the cats.

"How'd you know I was there?"

Blake looked up, raising her eyebrows. Her ears twitched, causing Yang to let out a long, " _Ohhhhh_."

Blake let out a small laugh. "Come here, Yang."

"Honestly? I completely forgot you had those for a second," Yang admitted.

"Really? You forgot about my ears, even though you were looking straight at me?"

"I never said I was an _observant_ person," Yang replied with a sheepish smile, earning another laugh from Blake.

Yang climbed into the bed as Blake moved the cats, situating themselves under the blankets. Yang curled up next to Blake, resting her head on Blake's chest while Blake wrapped her arms around her.

"Yang?" Blake asked.

"Yeah?"

"I need to ask… do you have nightmares about your flashbacks?"

There was a beat of silence. "Sometimes. They might happen tonight, after everything. I don't know."

"Is there anything I should do if it happens?"

Yang thought for a moment. "The same things you were doing earlier. Bringing me to the moment."

Blake nodded, planting another kiss on the top of Yang's head.

Yang melted into Blake. "I really like when you do that. It makes me feel safe," she said with a yawn.

"Good," Blake replied. "That's the goal."

Blake released one arm, twisting her body so she could turn off the light on her nightstand. She brought it back around Yang's body, holding her close.

"Goodnight," she whispered, giving her one more kiss on the top of her head.

"Goodnight Blakey," Yang murmured, nuzzling closer.

Blake looked down. Yang was already fast asleep.

It was still rather early. Blake wasn't even remotely close to tired yet. She'd known that as soon as she'd suggested that they try to get some sleep. Yang hadn't had enough time for a full night's sleep since their first date. There was no way Blake was going to take that possibility away from her, especially after the events of today.

She didn't mind laying there and watching Yang sleep. She wanted to help her, to protect her, to make her feel safe.

Yang looked peaceful as she slept. No problems, no worry, no stress. A look that Blake had not even come close to seeing on Yang's face once while she was awake.

It was a look and a realization that absolutely broke Blake's heart.


	13. Chapter 13

The first thing that Yang heard when she woke up was a deep rumbling.

 _Did Mezzaluna come sleep with me tonight?_

She cracked open a single eye, expecting to see her yellow pillowcase. Instead, she was met with a sea of black.

 _Black? Did Mez fall asleep in front of my face?_

Her other eye opened.

 _That definitely isn't fur._

Memories came flooding back to Yang. She was in Blake's bed, curled up into her side, staring straight at her hair. And the rumbling…

Well, the rumbling was surround-sound. She glanced down Blake to find one of the two black cats curled up on Blake's stomach, purring happily in her sleep. Which cat it was, Yang wasn't sure. She hadn't really gotten a chance to be formally introduced to Blake's cats.

The second source of rumbling came from directly behind Yang, pushed up against her back. She could only assume that the other of the black cats was curled up against her back, enjoying the warmth in the same way as the first.

There was still one more source of rumbling. It was stronger, lower, and… larger? Yang didn't quite know how else to describe it. She glanced around the room, looking for the source, assuming Chief or Sienna were hiding somewhere.

Yang's eyes grew wide as Blake shifted in her sleep, pulling Yang closer to her. She relaxed her muscles, allowing herself to melt into Blake's embrace.

 _Oh, that's not Chief or Sienna._

Yang's lips turned upwards into a grin as her ear was pressed up against Blake's chest.

 _Blake_ was purring.

It had to be literally the cutest noise Yang had ever heard.

* * *

 _Warmth_.

It was a strange, yet comforting sensation that was slowly stirring Blake from sleep. She curled up closer to it, not wanting to wake up and face the world yet.

A gentle breeze brushed against her neck at a steady pace. Soft, not enough to be uncomfortable, but enough to be noticable.

 _Strange. I don't think I left the window open last night._

Perhaps it was just Gambol or Shroud that had curled up on her pillow and was breathing against her neck. Yes, that was probably it.

But why was she so warm?

All of this thinking had forced her out of her sleepy state, her brain fully awake now. She let out a grumble, trying to roll over and get comfortable again, but something stopped her. There was a weight half on her, half against her, that prevented her from turning.

Amber eyes shot open to meet a sea of yellow. Lilac eyes looked up into hers.

"Good morning," Yang said with a soft smile.

"Good morning," Blake replied, reciprocating the smile. "Did you sleep well?"

Yang nodded. "Best sleep I've had in months. No nightmares or anything."

"Good." Blake planted a kiss on Yang's forehead, causing her to blush and melt more into Blake's arms.

"Cute," Blake hummed, pulling Yang closer. "You're _very_ warm, are you okay?"

Yang nodded. "I'm always warm. I have a naturally higher base temperature. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh, that's something I can _definitely_ get used to." Blake pressed her head against the top of Yang's. "Do you know what time it is?"

"No clue," Yang replied, nuzzling in closer, "and I honestly don't want to check."

"Hmm… I suppose we could stay like this for a little while."

"Yaaay," Yang murmured. She was quiet for a few more minutes before speaking up again. "Hey, Blake?"

"Yes Yang?"

"What are we?"

There were several moments of silence.

"What do you want us to be?" Blake finally asked.

"Well," Yang began, fidgeting nervously under Blake's arms, "I'd like to be your girlfriend. If you want to be, that is."

Blake smiled, placing her hand underneath Yang's chin and pulling her up for a kiss. It wasn't particularly long, but it got its message across.

"I'd like that too," Blake said after she pulled away, as if her kiss hadn't said that enough.

They were interrupted by a soft meowing that came from Blake's stomach.

"Good morning to you too, Gambol," Blake said with a smile, reaching down to offer some head scratches. "I wonder where Shroud is."

"Curled up against my back," Yang replied instantly.

Blake rose an eyebrow, peering over Yang's body. Sure enough, Shroud was curled up at the small of Yang's back, still fast asleep. She gave another smile at the sight. "Seems she likes the warmth as much as I do."

"What can I say, I attract a lot of p-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Blake warned, earning a chuckle from Yang.

"Blake?" a voice called from the hallway.

Blake let out a quiet sigh. "So much for staying in bed…" she muttered, before calling out "Yes Mom?"

"I heard that," Kali said with a smirk, twitching her ears, appearing in the doorway. "I made some breakfast, if you girls want some."

Blake looked down at Yang, who shrugged. "Sure."

"Okay, we'll be out in a few minutes," Blake replied, watching as Kali disappeared from the room.

Yang detached herself from Blake, sitting up in the bed and stretching. She tried to spin her right wrist, but it was jamming up, taking significantly longer to actually spin on the ball joint than it should have.

"Hmm," Yang hummed, twisting her right hand with her left.

"Is everything okay?" Blake asked, eyes wide at the way that the joint stuck for a second at a time.

Yang nodded, continuing to manually twist the wrist with her left hand. "Jammed up from under-usage. Just need to… get it… moving again…" she said through gritted teeth, twisting it a few more times before trying it on its own again. This time, it spun correctly, loosened up and fully functioning.

"Do you have to do that every morning?" Blake asked, pushing the blankets off of her and climbing out of bed.

Yang nodded as she got out of bed herself, much to the displeasure of Shroud. "Every time I don't use it for a couple of hours. It tends to stick the most in the mornings, since that's usually the longest I go without using it. Today's was pretty sticky though."

"Well," Blake said, checking her scroll, "you _did_ sleep for twelve hours."

Yang's jaw dropped open. " _Twelve hours_?"

Blake nodded. "You fell asleep sometime around 9pm. It's almost 9am."

" _Oum_ ," Yang cursed, shaking her head. "I literally don't know the last time I slept for that long."

"Well, you certainly needed it." Blake walked up to her girlfriend, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Come on, let's go get dressed and get breakfast."

* * *

It didn't occur to Yang the extent of the situation she had found herself in until she was sitting at the small kitchen table with Blake and Kali, eating some scrambled eggs and toast.

She was sitting at the kitchen table with her _girlfriend_ and her mother, who probably knew more than Yang had initially thought, given the ears that her daughter had obviously inherited. She'd had a mental breakdown, run to her girlfriend's apartment, who she'd only previously been on _one date_ with, told her practically her entire life story, and _still_ didn't have answers to all of her problems.

Oh, and she _didn't_ know where her girlfriend's _giant_ of a father was. She had met him previously, of course, but as a patron of his business, not has his daughter's girlfriend. Her mentally unstable, disabled, and

"Where's Dad?" Blake asked, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

"We got a rescue call at 8am this morning. Whole litter of kittens without a mother found in the Business District," Kali explained. "He's out dealing with that."

Blake's eyes widened. "Do we have the space for that?"

"Not really, no," Kali replied with a small smile. "But you know your father. He's not going to say no to orphaned kittens. He promised he'd check around the shelters and other rescues to see if there are any recent mothers who can help nurse."

Blake nodded, opening her mouth to say something else, when Kali's scroll went off.

"Speak of the devil." Kali unlocked her scroll and brought it up to her face. "Hello?"

There were a few beats of silence. Yang noticed the twitching of Blake's ears. She wondered if Blake could hear the other end of calls. A question for later, Yang decided.

"Alright, I'll be right over," Kali said with a sigh. "Send me the address? Okay, see you soon. Love you too."

She shut her scroll, pushing it back into her pocket. "Well, looks like I'm heading out to the Business District too. Seems there's double the kittens he anticipated and needs some additional help."

"Do you want me to come too?" Blake asked.

Kali shook her head. "The two of us should be fine. I'll call you if we need any extra help." She stood up from her chair, pausing for a moment before turning to Yang. "I know we didn't get to talk much today, but I hope your day is better today."

A gentle blush crossed Yang's face as she smiled. "Thank you."

Kali gave a small nod and a smile before heading for the front door. "Oh, and Yang?"

"Yes?"

"You're welcome here anytime."

"Thank you," Yang repeated, smiling and nodding back as Kali headed out the front door.

Blake gave a small smile. "She likes you."

"Good," Yang replied, turning her smile to Blake, "cause I have a _strong_ feeling this isn't going to be the last she'll see of me."

"I sure hope so." Blake poked her fork into her eggs. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Yang said. "The sleep helped a lot. I don't think the exhaustion helped the whole mental breakdown thing much."

"Yeah, I can't imagine it would help much." Blake looked up, making eye contact across the table. "Do you think you'll be okay to talk to your sister and your uncle today?"

Yang nodded. "I had some time to think things through before you woke up this morning. I think I know what I'm going to say and how I'm going to move forward from here."

"You were awake before me this morning?" Blake asked, tilting her head slightly. "For how long?"

"I dunno," Yang shrugged. "Thirty or forty-five minutes maybe? Not too long. You seemed peaceful. I didn't want to wake you up. Besides, it was easier to think with the calm purring."

Blake blinked, her eyes going wide. "Was I… purring this morning?"

Yang nodded. "Is that unusual?"

"No," Blake said, blushing, "not really. I just… don't usually let people see that side of me."

"Well," Yang said as she reached a hand across the table, "I thought it was very cute and calming. It's like an infectious happiness."

Blake tilted her head to the side slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, purring means you're happy and content, right?"

"Yeah, mostly."

"Well, knowing you were there with me, happy and content enough to be purring in your sleep, helped me stay positive while I was thinking through everything. It was impossible not to smile when you were so cute and happy, purring with me and your cats all around you."

A small smile crossed Blake's lips. "Well, when you put it that way…"

Yang smiled back, swallowing another bite of her eggs. "As much as I want to stay here all day, I do think I should head home after breakfast. There's a lot of stuff to talk about."

Blake nodded. "I figured as much."

"Can I call you afterwards if I need to?" Yang asked softly.

"Of course," Blake said immediately. "I'm also here if you need anything physically."

"Thank you." Yang smiled again.

" _Mraww!_ "

Both girls jumped at the sound. Blake let out a laugh after processing what she'd heard.

"Chief," she scolded, sticking her head under the table to find the large cat staring at her expectantly.

" _Mrawww!_ "

"Something tells me the only breakfast my mom remembered was ours," Blake said with a smirk, pulling herself back above the table before standing up.

"Surprised it took them that long to start yelling." Yang watched as Chief followed Blake to the kitchen where she would prepare breakfast for the four cats. "Mez always starts screaming within ten minutes of one of us waking up if she hasn't been fed."

"Oh, he was probably yelling earlier. Mom was just probably ignoring him until she finished with her breakfast. And well…" Blake's voice trailed off as her eyes glanced to the half-full plate on the table. Her brow furrowed for a second. "Probably means the cats downstairs need to be fed too."

"Would you like some help?" Yang offered, standing up and putting her empty plate in the sink.

Blake shook her head. "It's going to take a while, and you should get home."

"Are you sure?" Yang asked, coming to stand next to Blake as she was measuring out wet food into the four cat bowls that now sat on the counter.

" _Yang_ ," she chided, turning to look her in the eyes, "no procrastinating. You know what you have to do."

Yang frowned slightly. "I know. That doesn't mean I _want_ to do it."

Blake leaned forward, catching Yang off guard in a long, passionate kiss on the lips. The two stayed connected for several minutes before Blake pulled away, only after her lungs had been depleted of all of their breath.

"Go," she said with a gentle smile, cupping her hand on Yang's cheek.

Yang blinked, nodding. "Okay."

* * *

Yang stood outside the door to her own apartment, taking in a very deep breath.

 _I can do this_.

Key in the lock, turn.

Yang walked into the apartment to see Ruby and Qrow sitting at the table, eating cereal.

"Yang?" Ruby asked, looking up with wide eyes.

"Hi Rubes, hi Uncle Qrow." Yang closed the door behind her before looking sheepishly at the ground. "I'm sorry for disappearing last night. Life's been extremely stressful lately, and… having to relive everything last night and dealing with all the flashbacks sent me into a full mental breakdown."

Qrow dropped his spoon at once. "Yang…" he muttered, standing up and striding towards her. He embraced her in a hug, which she quickly returned. "I'm sorry for making you go through all of that again."

"It would have had to have happened eventually," Yang said with a sigh as they pulled apart. "I'm okay now. I got more sleep last night than I probably got total in the last week, and I'm okay. I just don't want to talk about the specifics of the accident again, if that's okay…?"

"Of course it is," Qrow said at once, placing his hands on her shoulders. "We go forward from here, okay?"

"Okay," Yang said with a smile and a nod. She looked over at Ruby, who was now standing next to her chair awkwardly. "Come here, dork."

Ruby dashed forward, joining her sister and her uncle in a group hug. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too, sis, me too."

After the three pulled apart again, Yang took another deep breath.

"So," she said, looking sheepishly at her uncle, "were you serious about quitting your job?"

Qrow nodded immediately. "I know I said I'd go today, but I didn't realize today was Saturday… and the office is closed till Monday. I'll be heading in first thing on Monday morning though."

"And an apartment together?"

"The moment I have a job lined up, we'll start apartment hunting," Qrow said with a smile.

There was a sigh of relief that escaped Yang's mouth, causing Qrow to give her another hug.

"When we're all settled in," he said as he hugged her, "I want you to go back to trade school… if you want to, of course."

Lilac eyes widened. "Yes, of course I do! The amount I could make as a mechanic would make the diner look like pocket money."

"Not that you're going to need to worry about finances for a while," Qrow reminded her.

"Now that," Yang said with another sigh as she pulled apart from her uncle again, "will be refreshing."

* * *

 **AN** : If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	14. Chapter 14

As the weekend turned into a new week, life began to find a strange new pattern.

Yang, for the first time in many, many months, found herself to be free on the weekend evenings. She spent the time with her family, catching up with her uncle. He told them some crazy, yet vague enough to not get him in trouble, stories from his time undercover for the last two years.

As far as the sisters could gather, he had been on a deep undercover mission to locate, well, _someone_. He couldn't say who, and he wouldn't even let a gender slip out. Just someone important, as he repeatedly said. He'd had some crazy adventures, deep undercover in an unnamed organization… And well, that's all the details they'd managed to get.

Qrow was not the only one with stories to tell. Yang had many tales of nightmare customers, the atrocities and borderline illegal practices of Cardin Winchester and University Pizza, and the story of Mezzaluna, and in turn, Blake. Ruby had many stories from two years of university, complete with tales of professors, students, and her academics alike. Despite being incredibly mundane compared to Qrow's stories of heroism and criminals, he seemed to be far more interested in listening to his nieces talk about their lives than he was in talking about his own.

When Monday finally rolled around, Qrow headed straight to the office and handed in his resignation. It wasn't until later that night when both Yang and Ruby got home did he describe his attempts to secure a desk job with his agency, only to be told there were no openings in Vale. On the bright side, as Qrow had put it, one of his old coworkers had a possible opening in a teaching position for him at a private school.

Yang and Ruby had been confused by that news, to say the least. It didn't exactly make sense to them- their uncle, who had been a secret agent for their entire lives, teaching?

Qrow hadn't been able to give them much explanation, because he wasn't exactly sure why he was being considered for a teaching job either. He had been told that the requirements for teaching at a private school were different than public schools, and he was more than qualified, but he still didn't really understand either. Now, it was just a waiting game to hear back from the old co-worker, while still scouring job listings for backup options.

The days became routine. If Yang had an early shift at Scholar's, she was the first one out. If her first shift of the day was later than 9am, Yang would awake to the smell of Qrow cooking breakfast for the three of them. When she returned home from work at the end of the day, instead of just finding Ruby on the futon, she'd find Qrow there as well, his makeshift bedding pushed to one side of the futon, which he had been sleeping on since he had arrived. The trio would eat dinner together, since Qrow had actually stocked the place with _real_ food, and not just ramen, rice, and beans. He wasn't a half-bad cook either. Not nearly as good as their father, or even _remotely_ close to their mother, but it was far better than the broke-college-student diet they'd been living on for two years.

If there was anything Yang did more than spend time with her family, it was talking to Blake. The two texted throughout the day, whenever Yang got the chance. Blake found herself frequenting Scholar's during the mornings that Yang worked there _and_ Blake had classes, allowing them to share Yang's lunch break together. In the evenings, Yang usually spent some time on the phone with Blake before bed, listening to Blake talk about her day.

They hadn't had formal time for their second date yet, given the sudden changes in Yang's life, but their time spent together during Yang's breaks at Scholar's felt more and more like small dates each time. They did, however, have time to make formal plans, insisted upon them by Kali.

Yang was going over Blake's apartment for dinner on Friday night, to formally meet Kali and Ghira as Blake's girlfriend.

Yang had to admit, she was rather scared.

It had been one thing when she had met them at the cat rescue on Ruby's birthday. They had been little more to her than the people who were giving her sister a cat, and the parents to her new friend. Now, not only were they the parents of her _girlfriend_ , she'd also had an impromptu breakdown in their apartment only a week before.

She was still pretty embarrassed about that one, despite Blake's constant insistence that it wasn't a problem that she had crashed at her apartment. Yang was no stranger to breakdowns, given that she'd been diagnosed with a _number_ of mental illnesses following the accident, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression, but she _was_ a stranger to having a breakdown in someone else's. It was just a complicated mess- as everything in Yang's life seemed to be these days.

Still, she was trying to remain positive about the whole thing. She didn't want the _lasting_ impression she made on Blake's parents to be her ongoing instability, even if it was one of the first ones.

Friday night felt as if it took forever to come. Yang was checking the clock constantly while on her shift at the diner, even if she very well knew it wouldn't do anything to help pass the time. When her shift finally ended, she hopped on her bike, driving the speed limit back to her apartment, where she showered and changed before pacing nervously about the apartment.

"You're going to drill a line in the floor with all that pacing," Qrow called from the futon, not even looking up from his scroll.

"Yeah, well, sitting still just isn't going to happen."

"Why are you so nervous anyways? Haven't you met her parents already?"

"Not as her girlfriend."

"Ah, I see." Qrow let out a huff, snapping his scroll shut. "Listen, kiddo, you don't have anything to worry about. You're a great kid, with a lot of drive, and a good heart. Just be yourself, and they'll love you."

"I'm not exactly a kid anymore," Yang commented, turning to keep pacing.

"You'll always be kiddo to me, kiddo," Qrow replied, earning an eye roll and a grunt from Yang. "I'm serious, though. Just be yourself, firecracker."

"I'll try my best." Yang's scroll went off, an alarm buzzing on her phone. "Okay, I can leave now and not be _too_ early."

Qrow shook his head and smirked. "Wow, you're _really_ worried about making a good impression, huh?"

"Yes, yes I am," Yang said with a huff as she picked up her jacket, helmet, and keys from the small entryway. "I'll be back before ten," she called behind her as she opened the door.

"Have fun, and remember what I told you!" Qrow called back as Yang shut the door behind her.

Yang stood for a moment outside of the apartment door, taking a deep breath. It was still pretty strange to have Qrow around, even if she really did appreciate his genuine attempts at parental advice.

 _Things are different now, but life can be okay again_.

* * *

Blake was hovering near the kitchen, peeking out the window every few minutes, but trying to stay out of her parents' way as they cooked.

" _Blake_ ," Ghira chided after she almost bumped into him while he was pulling dishes from one of the cabinets, "go sit out in the living room. There's barely enough room in here for two of us."

"But I-"

"We'll keep an eye out for a yellow motorcycle, I promise," Ghira told her, nodding towards the living room. "Go on."

Blake sighed and nodded, turning around and heading out towards the living room.

"Why are you so nervous?" Kali asked as she poked at the food in the frying pan with her spatula. "It's not like we haven't met her before."

"I know," Blake replied, sitting on a couch, "but you didn't meet her as my girlfriend."

Kali rose an eyebrow, even if Blake couldn't see it from her position. "And why should that make any difference?"

"I don't know, it just feels more… formal, I guess? Listen, my anxiety doesn't really need a _ton_ of reasoning to spike like that. It just does what it wants, when it wants."

Kali let out a small chuckle. "Oh, don't I know that feeling all too well…"

"Yellow motorcycle just pulled into the lot," Ghira commented, glancing out the window.

Blake leapt up from her seat, dashing for the door. "I'll go down to get her!"

Kali and Ghira exchanged a look and a small chuckle.

"She really is your daughter," Kali snickered, pushing the food out of the pan and into a serving dish.

"As if there were ever any doubts," Ghira replied with a smile. He glanced over into the living room, his smile fading as his eyes landed on the small table next to the front door. "Well, she certainly is _your_ daughter too."

* * *

Blake practically ran down the stairs to the lobby, pausing before she exited through the front door. She took a moment to catch her breath, and make sure she looked presentable in the glass of the door before stepping outside.

Yang was getting off of her bike. Blake had never fully taken time to appreciate how _good_ Yang looked next to her motorcycle. There was no mistaking Yang's aesthetic, between her hair, clothes, arm, and motorcycle. Yellow and orange, like the tips of flames on a bright fire. Yang's riding jacket hugged her arms well, showing off the muscles she'd gained carrying around trays of food every day. The moment she pulled off her helmet, and shook her head to let her hair flow free, Blake felt like she had died on the spot.

 _Oum damn,_ was truly the only thing Blake could think.

Lilac eyes looked up as Yang tucked her helmet underneath her arm. A huge smile broke across her face as she saw Blake standing there, just outside of the doors that led to the apartments.

"Hey Blake," she said as she approached, Blake's heart pounding at a million miles a minute.

"Hi Yang," Blake replied, not moving as Yang practically stood on top of her.

Yang used her free arm to pull Blake close to her, giving her a long kiss. Blake melted straight into it, wrapping her arms around Yang's waist, trying to avoid the helmet still tucked under her arm.

"Well," Yang said with a chuckle as they finally pulled away, "I'm glad you're as excited to see me as I am to see you."

Blake blushed. "Yeah, well, there aren't many opportunities for kissing during our little lunch dates."

"Unfortunately," Yang replied with a small nod. "Qrow is supposed to hear back from his old co-worker by next week, so hopefully those are coming to an end soon."

"Then we get to replace them with _real_ dates."

"Of course." Yang looked up at the lobby doors. "Shall we?"

Blake nodded, opening the first set of doors into the lobby. She reached into her pocket as she approached the second set, stopping dead in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" Yang asked instantly.

Blake groaned, fishing around in her other pockets. "I forgot my keys."

* * *

 _Buzz!_

"Right on cue," Ghira said with a smirk.

Kali rolled her eyes, heading over to the small box near the door. "Forget your keys _one time_ , and suddenly it's all you're known for…" she muttered, just loud enough for Ghira to hear it and let out a hearty laugh. She pressed the button on the box. "Hello?"

"Hi Mom. I forgot my keys…"

"I can see that," Kali said with a little laugh, pressing another button. "I unlocked the front door, so don't bother to knock."

Kali stepped away from the box, heading back into the kitchen to help her husband with the finishing touches on dinner.

"Like I said," Ghira said between laughs, "she's _definitely_ your daughter."

* * *

Blake opened the front door to her apartment, leading Yang inside. "You can put your stuff near this table, and I'll take your jacket for you, if you'd like," she offered.

Yang nodded, placing her helmet on the small table next to a dish of keys, adding her own to the mix. She slipped her backpack onto the ground, sliding it underneath the table, before pulling off her jacket and handing it to Blake.

As soon as Blake turned to hang up the coat near the door, Yang noticed the other two Belladonna's approaching.

"Hello!" Yang said with a smile, rolling on the heels of her feet.

"It's great to see you again!" Kali exclaimed, reaching forward for a hug, which Yang happily returned. "Everything going well at home?" she asked as they pulled away.

Yang nooded, trying to suppress the blush rising to her cheeks. "Better than I could have ever hoped for."

"That's what I like to hear," Ghira chimed in, reaching out a hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Yang."

Yang reached out, giving the giant man a firm handshake. "Same to you, Mr. Belladonna."

"Please, call me Ghira," he insisted with a wave of his hand. "Mr. Belladonna makes me feel old."

"Which you are," Blake said with a laugh as she turned away from the hook that she had been balancing both her and Yang's jackets on.

"Don't you two start," Kali warned, waving her finger in the air. "Let's go sit, before dinner gets cold."

" _Fine_ ," Blake said, in mock annoyance, smiling the entire time. Ghira turned to follow his wife back towards the kitchen table, allowing Blake time to flash a small private smile at Yang, who returned it instantly.

Yang felt a rush of calm pass over her when Blake smiled at her.

 _Just like Uncle Qrow said. Just be yourself, and they'll love you_.

* * *

Dinner carried on in a relatively tame manner. They talked about anything and everything. Blake's parents had a number of questions for Yang, about her life, her goals, and her current jobs. They were very careful, much to both Yang and Blake's relief, to not mention the past at all. Yang was good with coming up with questions too, mostly about the rescue and the cats that they currently had downstairs.

Dinner, according to Yang, was the best meal she'd had in at _least_ a decade, if not _ever_. She'd always enjoyed authentic Faunus dishes, but she admittedly hadn't had the chance to have many over the years. Tonight's dish was absolutely incredible- seared salmon served with vegetables that were only native to the island of Menagerie, considered to be the homeland for many Faunus. The balance of spices was so perfect, Yang wished that the food would never end.

Unfortunately, it eventually did. Well, at least the space in Yang's stomach for more food had come to an abrupt end. As much as she wanted more, the idea of taking so much as another bite made her a bit queasy.

"Do you think your sister and your uncle would like some of the leftovers?" Kali asked, looking at the food still left on the serving trays. "We have quite a bit of extra food."

Yang nodded at once. "I'm sure they'd love that."

"I'll go get the tupperware," Kali said, standing up.

"So, about your uncle," Ghira began, causing Blake to stiffen at once, "has he figured out a plan yet?"

Yang hesitated before nodding. "Sort of. He's waiting to hear back from a former coworker about a spot teaching at a private school just outside of Vale. Once we find out if he's got the job or not, we're going to start apartment hunting."

Ghira nodded in response. "Well, when the time comes, the three of us would be more than happy to help you move."

Yang smiled. "Thank you, I'm sure we'll take you up on that."

"Anytime," Ghira replied, returning the smile. "And once things have settled a bit more, I'd love for our families to have dinner all together sometime."

"That'd be great!" Yang exclaimed, her smile widening. "Uncle Qrow could use meeting some people who are both his age and also _not_ international super spies."

Ghira laughed at the comment, before realizing Yang was completely serious, judging by the look his daughter gave him. His eyes went wide before he quickly tried to get a hold of himself. "Uh, sorry."

Yang burst into a fit of giggles herself. "It's fine! I wish it weren't true, but…" She gave a shrug, a smile still on her face.

Kali returned with two large tupperware containers, placing them on the table. "I don't know what exactly from this they'd like…"

"Ruby will pretty much eat anything you put in front of her, _especially_ any of this. It was all absolutely _fantastic_."

"Why thank you," Kali said with a smile, beginning to scoop a bit of everything into one of the containers. "And your uncle?"

"Honestly? No clue what he'd like. I've only really been eating around him for like, a week. I think giving him a little bit of everything would be good too. He can give anything he doesn't want to Ruby."

Kali nodded, doing the same with the second tupperware container until nearly all of the leftovers had been split between the two. She sealed the containers shut before placing them in front of Yang. "Will they fit in your backpack?"

Yang nodded. "It can carry my helmet, if I had nothing else in it. It's more than big enough for these." She paused for a moment, taking a second to look up at the clock on the wall. "Unfortunately, it's getting kind of late, and I have work in the morning," she said as she stood up from her chair.

"Of course!" Ghira smiled, standing up from his seat as he extended his hand towards Yang again. "You're welcome here any time, Yang."

"Thank you," she replied, shaking his hand. "And thank you for dinner. It was absolutely _incredible_."

"I'm glad you liked it," Kali said, giving Yang a hug once she released Ghira's hand.

"Liked it? I _loved_ it! That was the best meal I've had in _years_."

Kali beamed at the compliment. "You should bring her over more, Blake. I haven't heard compliments about my cooking since your father and I first started dating."

" _Mom_ ," Blake groaned, shaking her head before turning to Yang. "Do you want me to walk you to your bike?"

Yang nodded. "Yes please."

Blake flashed a smile at her parents. "I'll be back!"

"Don't forget your keys this time," Ghira said with a laugh, causing Blake to blush as she paused to pick up her keys by the door while Yang gathered her things.

There were another brief round of goodbyes before Kali and Ghira watched Blake shut the door behind her and Yang.

Ghira looked at his wife. "I really like her."

Kali flashed a wide smile at him. "Me too."

* * *

Blake stood next to Yang's bike as she watched Yang get most of her gear on. Her riding jacket was zipped up firmly, her backpack strapped to her back. The only thing that hadn't yet been put on was Yang's helmet, which was currently sitting on the seat of the bike.

"I had a really great time tonight," Yang said, looking up from her jacket.

"Me too."

"Do you think they liked me?"

Blake let out a little laugh. "I doubt they're going to talk about anything else for _days_. They loved you."

Yang gave a wide smile. "Good! Mission accomplished then."

"You dork," Blake replied, smiling as she rolled her eyes.

"So…"

"So."

"Are you doing anything tomorrow evening?"

Blake blinked at the question. "No, not really."

"Would you like to go out after I get out of work? I don't know what we'd do, maybe get ice cream or something?"

"Yang, it's mid-November."

"Oh. Right."

Both Blake and Yang began to laugh, Blake taking a step closer to her girlfriend as they did.

"Sure, Yang. We'll figure something out."

"Sounds great!" Yang flashed another wide smile as she wrapped her arms around Blake's back, pulling her in a bit closer.

Blake was suddenly barely an inch from Yang's face. She smiled back, before closing her eyes and leaning in to meet Yang's lips.

* * *

Kali peered out the kitchen window as she washed the dishes, smiling down at the sight in the parking lot. "Oh, to be young and in love…"

Ghira raised an eyebrow at the statement, not pausing as he dried the plate in his hands. "Really? Already?"

"Did you _see_ the way they kept sneaking looks at each other when they thought we weren't looking?"

"Uh, no?"

Kali shook her head with a grin. "Of course you didn't."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Ghira asked, unable to stop the smirk forming on his face.

"You're just as oblivious as always," she replied with a laugh, looking out the window again. "Mark my words, they're going to say they love each other by the end of the month."

"That seems pretty quick."

Kali's eyes finally diverted back to the task at hand. "Call it… Mother's intuition."


	15. Chapter 15

Naturally, things just weren't going according to Yang's plan.

She's gotten up bright and early on Saturday morning for her shift at the diner. It wasn't supposed to be _too_ long, just the breakfast and lunch rushes, which gave pretty damn good tips on a weekend morning.

Time felt like it was moving by at the speed of a snail. Seven in the morning to two in the afternoon, that was supposed to be the extent of her shift, but it felt like it was taking a full twenty-four hours.

The one thing that Yang wasn't a huge fan of at the diner is that she always had to wait until her replacement came in. Sometimes that meant staying later than expected. She always got paid, of course, but it had become enough of an issue to make her late to the pizzeria on a number of occasions.

Of course, that wasn't Yang's concern today. She wasn't working at the pizza shop, but she had her date with Blake…

Two in the afternoon turned to two-thirty, which turned to three, then three-thirty, then four… Yang was about ready to go hunt down the replacement herself. She'd already texted Blake twice, warning her that her replacement was late, and then an hour and a half later that she was _still_ stuck at the diner.

It wasn't until _three hours_ after her shift was supposed to end that the managers were able to find someone else to come in and cover for the rest of the shift, since the regular replacement was still nowhere to be found. Yang finished up whatever tables she had left, and didn't get to leave the diner until nearly five-thirty.

By the time Yang got back to the apartment, showered, and changed out of her uniform, it was quarter past six. She collapsed onto the futon, exhausted, letting out a long sigh.

She _really_ wanted to see Blake tonight, but it was already _so_ late. They'd only be able to go out for two, maybe three hours at most. Yang had a shift at Scholar's tomorrow, bright and early, and wanted to be in bed by ten.

She looked at her scroll for a long while before making her decision and placing the call through to Blake.

 _Ring._

 _Ring._

 _Ring._

"Hello?"

Yang smiled at Blake's voice on the other end. "Hiya, Blake. I'm finally home."

"Woah, really? Four hours later?"

"Kind of. I got home a half hour ago but I needed to shower and stuff."

"Do you still want to go out tonight?" Blake asked apprehensively.

"Honestly?" Yang began, sinking further down into the futon as she talked. "Not really. I'm exhausted and we'd only be able to be out for a couple hours anyways."

"Oh, okay."

" _But_ ," Yang continued with a smile on her lips, "I'd love for you to come over and watch a movie with me."

"That sounds great!"

Yang had to suppress a giggle at the mental image of Blake's eyes widening and her ears popping up, with the level of enthusiasm that had filled the last sentence. "Come over whenever, I'll buzz you in when you get here."

"I just have to grab my coat and I'll be on my way."

"Okay, see you soon!"

After a quick goodbye, Yang hung up her scroll and shoved it back into her pocket. She pushed her uncle's pillow and blanket off the futon and underneath, making it look a bit better for when Blake got there. That was about all the cleaning she could muster the energy to do, but she knew that Blake wouldn't mind.

Mezzaluna came trotting over to the futon, curious to see what Yang was up to.

"Hey Mez," Yang said, patting the area next to her. "Come on up here."

Mezzaluna leapt up onto the futon, curling up in a ball on Yang's lap, demanding pets by shoving her head into Yang's arm.

"Needy, needy," Yang chided with a smile. "Blake's gonna be here soon. You'll remember her when you see her. She'll be excited to see how you've been adjusting."

" _Mrow_."

"Yeah, me too, Mez, me too."

* * *

Barely fifteen minutes later, Mezzaluna leapt off of Yang's lap at the sound of the buzzing of the call box near the door. Yang went and answered it, buzzing Blake up to the apartment. She didn't move from the doorway until Blake knocked on the other side, knowing very well that if she went and sat back down on the futon it would be _much_ harder to get back up.

The moment the knock came, Yang opened the door, stopping Blake before she could even do a second knock.

"Why, hello to you too," Blake said with a smile, stepping into the apartment.

"Hi," Yang replied sheepishly, blushing. "Sorry, I just…"

" _Shush_ ," Blake chided. "Nothing to apologize for."

" _Meow meow meow meow!_ "

Blake looked down with a smile to see Mezzaluna trotting towards her, meowing with every step. "Why hello there, little lady!" Blake crouched down onto the floor, petting Mezzaluna. "Glad to see you're enjoying life!"

"Oh, she loves it here, especially now that she has a _third_ person to sleep on top of at night." Yang let out a little laugh. "Let's go sit on the futon. She'll jump right up and cuddle with us."

Blake stood up, following Yang over to the futon that remained one of the only pieces of furniture in the living room. They ended up sitting longways on the couch, legs up, with Blake sitting behind Yang so she could wrap her arms around Yang. Mezzaluna sat in Yang's lap for a while, but ended up deciding to curl up between both sets of their feet.

They flicked through the channels on the TV for a while, Yang having admitted that they didn't actually _own_ any movies, they just watched whatever was on TV. They ended up deciding on an older action movie that had only really just started, since most of their other options were almost already over.

"So," Yang asked with a small yawn, "how was your day?"

"Kind of boring, not going to lie," Blake replied with a small smile. "I had class this morning, but that was over by one, and I was just kind of waiting to hear from you after that…"

Yang groaned. "I'm so sorry about that. It was really, really annoying for me too. Like, yeah, I got paid and all, but that's four hours I was supposed to be spending with you, not busting my back and my feet even more."

"You don't have to apologize," Blake said softly. "It wasn't your fault the next waitress just decided to go missing."

"I hope she's okay," Yang sighed. "She's a nice girl. Nothing like this has ever happened with her before. Ten or fifteen extra minutes, maybe, but _never_ that long, and always with warning."

"Well, hopefully you have an answer soon."

"Yeah, hopefully." Yang stifled out another yawn.

"My day got a lot better once you called," Blake said, leaning down and planting a kiss on the top of Yang's head.

"Good." Yang looked up, smiling with heavy eyelids. "I really enjoy just having you here."

"Me too."

Yang didn't reply right away, just snuggling herself even closer to Blake. A few minutes later, Blake could hear the distinct sound of very soft snores, and the steady rise and fall of her sleeping girlfriend's chest underneath her arms.

Blake smiled at the sleeping girl. She didn't _dare_ wake her up. She knew all too well that Yang needed extra sleep, and besides, Blake thought sleeping Yang was literally the _cutest_ thing in the entire world.

She pulled out her scroll, trying to be as still as possible to not wake up Yang. She typed up a message to her parents, which took far longer than usual, considering she was only using one hand.

 _Probably going to be back late tonight, everything is okay, you don't have to wait up for me. When I get home I'll wake you up and let you know I'm back._

Once Blake sent the message, she dropped her scroll onto the ground next to her. She sat there and watched Yang for a little while, peaceful and content, before she felt herself start to drift off into sleep herself. She could feel herself starting to purr as she began to slip away, and almost stopped herself, before remembering that Yang had really enjoyed it last week. She pulled Yang a bit closer to her, allowing herself to drift away into a steady sleep, the low rumbling in her chest growing louder as she became more and more unconscious.

* * *

"Well, fancy meeting you here," Ruby said as she stood in the lobby, watching as her uncle entered the building.

"How long have you been standing there?" Qrow asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not long! I saw you pull into the lot as I was getting out of my car, so I figured I'd just wait and let you in so you didn't have to buzz in and wake up Yang."

"Good thinking, Little Rose," Qrow replied, waiting while Ruby swiped into the building and led them down the hall.

"How was your meeting?" Ruby asked while they waited for the elevator.

"Good, very good. I'll tell the details when Yang's here too."

Ruby's usual smile widened. "Awesome!"

"What were you doing out so late?" Qrow asked.

"We've got a big test next week, so me and some other commuters in my mechanical engineering course were having a study session," Ruby explained. "Most of the other students have regular study sessions in the dorms, but for those of us that don't live there, we usually have to plan our own sessions on the weekends."

"Still, studying until midnight?"

Ruby shrugged. "It's a _bigger_ test than our final, for _whatever_ reason. Professors don't always make sense, you know."

Qrow let out a hearty laugh as the elevator opened to the sixth floor. "Oh, I certainly remember those days all too well…"

"Shocking," Ruby replied with a smirk, "considering how _old_ you are."

"Watch it, you," Qrow chided, smiling at his niece. "What do you think the chances are Yang's already asleep?"

"One hundred percent. I haven't seen her up at midnight in like, forever. Other than for my birthday, but she had that day off."

"Hmm, well, I guess we'll just have to wake her up for the news then."

"Can't it wait till morning? I'd hate to wake her up…"

"Ruby Rose, wanting to _wait_ to hear news? Now _that_ isn't a change I expected when I came back from my mission."

Ruby stuck her tongue out at her uncle. "Very funny, Uncle Qrow. I just don't want her to be even more tired tomorrow at work. She's always tired as it is."

"It won't take long," Qrow insisted while he waited for Ruby to unlock the door. It was a bit annoying not having a key or the card that his nieces used to get into the building, but he knew that the only way to get his own would be to put his name on the lease… and well, considering that was the literal _opposite_ of what he was trying to do, he had settled for just waiting to be let in for now.

Ruby stepped into the apartment, expecting to flick on the light, to only realize that it was already on. She stopped and turned to face the living room, to see Yang and Blake cuddling on the couch, fast asleep.

"Well, that's unexpected," Qrow whispered, stepping in next to Ruby.

"Well, now we have to wake her, well, _them_ , up regardless," Ruby whispered back.

Qrow nodded, hanging up his coat on one of the hooks that were once reserved for Yang's bike helmet, which now rested in her room. He noted a white coat next to his- assumedly Blake's.

" _Yaaang, Blakeee_ ," Ruby half-spoke, half-sang as she approached the futon. "Wakey-wakey!" Ruby nudged Yang slightly, not sure if she should do the same with Blake.

Yang's eyes shot open at Ruby's touch. " _Huh_ , _wha_?" She attempted to roll over, not realizing she was still nestled between Blake's legs…

Causing them to both fall to the floor with a _CRASH!_

" _Oh my Oum are you okay?_ " Ruby began sputtering immediately, Qrow dashing over to their sides as well.

Blake rubbed her shoulder, which she'd landed on. " _Ow…_ "

"Oh my Oum, Blake, I'm so sorry!" Yang exclaimed, untangling herself from Blake and rubbing her own knee.

"Let me get you two some ice packs!" Ruby ran into the kitchen to retrieve them from the freezer.

"It's okay, Yang," Blake replied, wincing as she tried to roll her shoulder. "Accidents happen."

* * *

A few minutes later, both girls were back on the futon, this time sitting up. Blake had an ice pack draped over her shoulder, and Yang was applying pressure to the ice pack on her knee. Qrow and Ruby had pulled over the kitchen chairs, sitting across from the futon.

"Well, now that _that's_ out of the way," Qrow said with a small chuckle, "I have some news for you."

"Oh?" Yang asked, perking up in her seat.

"Turns out, the meeting was less of a meeting, and more of an informal interview," Qrow explained. "I didn't realize it was going to end up turning into that, but luckily the deputy headmistress didn't seem to mind."

"Wait, what?" Ruby's mouth was gaping open. "I thought you were just going out for drinks with a friend!"

"Yeah, I thought so too. Next thing you know, we're in a restaurant, and a woman named Glynda Goodwitch joined us. Turns out she was under the impression it was an interview, and my friend and I were under the impression it was just for drinks and a friendly dinner."

"And she didn't mind?"

Qrow shook his head. "She seemed okay with the misunderstanding. She was really impressed by my resume and basically just had a few questions for me."

"And…" Yang said, gesturing with her hand to get him to get to the point.

Qrow's smile widened. "She asked me if I could start on Monday. I said yes."

" _Oh my Oum!_ " Ruby leapt out of her chair, giving her uncle a huge crashing hug. "That's _incredible!_ "

Yang's mouth was gaping open as she tried to process the information. Blake placed a hand on top of Yang's and squeezed gently. "I… you… what?"

"I start training on Monday. I won't start teaching formally until next week, but I'll still be getting paid starting Monday."

Yang's mouth finally closed, but only as she began shaking slightly. Blake's eyes grew wide, trying to comfort her, but tears came anyways.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Blake said softly, embracing Yang in a hug, even if it made her shoulder sting.

"Y-yes, yes it is," Yang whispered back. "Happy tears. Happy tears."

Qrow smiled softly. "You can put in your two weeks notice at the coffee shop tomorrow, Yang. You won't need to work two jobs anymore. And once paychecks start coming in, you can leave the diner too and go back to trade school."

Yang buried her face into Blake's good shoulder, the crying increasing into full sobs. Blake rubbed her back gently, still trying to soothe her.

"Holy smokes," Ruby whispered, still in shock herself. "It's over. It's finally over."

Yang pulled back from the hug, standing up and looking at her little sister with a smile. "Come here, Rubes."

Ruby leapt over to the futon, giving Yang a giant hug as tears began to fall from Ruby's eyes too. "We're free," she whispered over and over. "We're free."

Yang held her close, letting her own tears fall onto her sister's shirt. "No more money worries. No more crappy apartment. No more crappy second-hand dorm furniture."

"No more ramen," Ruby said, causing everyone in the room, including herself, to laugh.

Yang and Ruby pulled away, only for Qrow to take turns hugging them both. He stayed with Yang a little bit longer, which she gladly embraced.

"I'm sorry for not being here when you needed me," he whispered softly.

"You don't have to be sorry. You were exactly where you needed to be. You had an important job to do, and we got through it the best we could. Now you're here, and you get to help us now, and we can never be grateful enough for that."

"It never should have gotten to this point in the first place…"

" _Qrow_ ," Yang said, pulling away from her uncle and looking him in the eyes. "We can't change the past. That's something I've learned recently and I have to remind myself of it a lot. We can't change the past, but we can improve our present. That's what you're doing now, and that's what you're going to continue to do."

Qrow looked into Yang's eyes for a few moments, shaking his head. "I don't know when you got to be so grown up. You sound exactly like your father."

"I learned from the best," Yang replied with a soft smile.

Qrow pulled her into another hug, although this one was much briefer. When he finally pulled away, Yang went and sat back down on the couch next to Blake.

"Whenever you're all going to move," Blake chimed in, reminding Ruby and Qrow of her presence in the room, "let me know. My parents have offered our van to help move things."

"I don't know how much of this stuff we'll be taking with us," Qrow said, looking around the mostly empty apartment, "but we'll definitely need some help moving in our new furniture."

"Just let us know when and where, and we'll be there," Blake replied with a smile.

"Holy Oum it's late," Yang said with a yawn, taking a look at her scroll. "It's almost one in the morning."

" _Shit_ ," Blake cursed, picking up her scroll off the ground. "I told my parents I'd be back late, but I doubt they thought this late…"

"Do you want to stay the night here?" Yang offered, standing up from the futon. "Call me paranoid, but I don't think driving home at one is the best of ideas."

Blake nodded immediately. "That'd be great."

"Just no funny business."

Yang's eyes snapped to glare at Qrow the moment the moment the words left his mouth. "Pretty sure _your_ name isn't anywhere on the lease, so you don't get to make the rules."

Qrow smirked. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Yang huffed, offering her hand to Blake, who had turned beet red. "Besides, I would never do anything with my baby sister in the apartment anyways."

" _Hey_!" Ruby snapped. "I am twenty years old, I am _not_ a baby!" She gave her best attempt at a glare to Yang, but it simply turned into a pout.

Yang and Qrow burst out laughing, and even Blake let out a few giggles.

"Sorry, Rubes," Yang said, reaching over to ruffle Ruby's hair, "but you'll always be my baby sister."


	16. Chapter 16

_Warmth_.

Blake purred, her senses coming to as she slowly began waking up. Touch was the first, the sensation of warmth filling her entire body. It was like she had fallen asleep curled up against a heater.

Her eyes opened, blinking several times as the only thing she was able to see was an ocean of yellow in front of her face. It took a few moments before the memories came flooding back.

 _Yang_.

She was curled up in Yang's tiny twin bed, with her girlfriend resting with her head on her chest. The sea of yellow moved slightly, and Blake had a moment of panic after thinking she had awoken Yang with her purring. Before she could really stop herself, she realized that Yang was nuzzling closer to the rumbling in her chest.

Blake let out a sigh of relief as she let the purring continue. She wrapped her arms around Yang, pulling her close. She took in a deep breath, letting herself take in a huge whiff of Yang's strawberry scented shampoo. Her eyes closed again, allowing herself to relax into the warmth and embrace of Yang...

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Blake's eyes shot open as soon as they had closed. Yang groaned, her eyes opening as she rolled over, reaching for her scroll.

"Careful!" Blake exclaimed, keeping her grip firm on Yang as she tried to stop her from tumbling off of the tiny bed.

The key word there being _tried_.

 _CRASH!_

For the second time in less than twelve hours, Blake found herself on the ground, tangled up with Yang.

" _Ow_ ," Yang groaned, looking up at Blake. "Sorry?"

Blake smiled and let out a little laugh. "You really gotta be more careful."

"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly used to waking up all cuddled up with a beautiful girl."

"Yang!" Ruby burst into the room. "Is everything - oh _Oum_ Yang, not _again_."

Qrow appeared in the doorway behind Ruby, who was now shaking her head at the sight of her sister and her sister's girlfriend tangled up in blankets on the floor next to bed.

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"At least shut that _damn_ alarm off," Qrow grumbled, sulking back towards the living room.

Yang and Blake exchanged glances before both bursting into a fit of giggles. They didn't even bother trying to untangle from the blankets and each other. Blake buried her head in Yang's shoulder, unable to control her laughter.

Ruby stepped over the two of them, grumbling as she turned off the alarm on Yang's scroll herself. She opened her mouth to say something else before she left, but ended up deciding against it, opting to shake her head again before leaving.

Once the two on the floor stopped laughing, Yang finally spoke again. "Sorry for waking you up so early. I've got work soon."

"How early is it, exactly?" Blake asked.

"About six," Yang replied, finally untangling herself and helping Blake off the ground. "I've got work in about an hour."

"Where?"

"Scholar's."

"Hmm," Blake hummed, stretching her arms above her head. "Maybe I'll make a coffee run today."

"That's a wonderful idea." Yang walked over to her closet, pulling out her uniform and tucking her apron into her backpack. "Sorry you have to leave so early."

" _Yang_ ," Blake said, walking up to Yang and grabbing her hands, "you don't have anything to apologize for. It's okay. I knew you had work early when I decided to stay here last night."

"Are you sure?"

Blake pulled Yang in closer, only an inch away from her face, before saying, "Yes. I'm sure." Before Yang could get any response, Blake leaned in, closing the gap between them.

Yang's face lit up bright red when Blake's lips touched hers. She was intoxicating, a drug even too powerful for the working machine that was Yang Xiao Long. The kiss, this moment, she never wanted any of it to end.

But even the most intoxicated people still need air to breathe, as Yang's lungs unfortunately reminded her. When she pulled away, she cupped Blake's cheek in her right hand. Lilac eyes stared into amber for several more moments before Blake finally spoke.

"Go get ready for work."

Yang's smile faltered into a frown. "But why would I want to do that when I have the most beautiful girl in the world right here?"

"Because you have to go put in your two weeks notice today," Blake reminded her, placing her hand on top of Yang's, gripping the metal fingers gently. "You'll get all the more time with me when you only have one job."

"Stop being right all the time," Yang muttered with a small smile.

"Go finish getting ready, and I'll wait to leave until you do, okay?"

"Are you going home first?"

Blake nodded in response. "I'll need to pick up my laptop and stuff so I can get some work done. Plus, it's been… a _really_ long time since I stayed at anyone's house overnight, and so my mom's probably all worried."

"Really? Even at 22?"

"The last time I slept over anyone's house, I was 8," Blake admitted sheepishly.

"Well," Yang said with a wide smile, "I'm honored then."

"Go get ready, dork." Blake pulled Yang's hand down from her cheek.

"But I don't want this moment to end…" Yang whispered, looking down at the ground.

Blake pushed Yang's chin up gently, looking her in the eyes. "We get to have a million more moments just like this. Just be patient."

Yang gave a small smirk. "That was never a strong suit of mine."

"Well, I'm going to make it one." Blake dropped her hand, walking towards the bed again, where Yang had laid out her uniform. She picked up the shirt and tossed it at Yang, followed by the pants. "Now _go_."

" _Fineee_ ," Yang groaned, catching the clothes in the air. "But I'm stealing another kiss before I leave."

"Better hurry then," Blake said, leaning against the wall. "If it'll make you late, you'll just have to wait until next time for another kiss."

At those words, Yang booked it into the bathroom, leaving a smiling Blake in her wake.

A smiling Blake who knew _exactly_ how to poke Yang's buttons.

* * *

It was barely 6:45 when Blake arrived back at her apartment. She entered the house quietly, not trying to wake up her parents this early. She was still somewhat tired, having had a rather strange night when it came to sleep, but she had only been up for an hour earlier than she normally did, and knew all too well that a nap would cause far more harm than good. Instead, she decided she'd surprise her parents with breakfast, something they often did for her, but rarely the other way around. It would be a _while_ before Yang went on break regardless, so it was probably best to spend some time at home before darting back out again.

She washed her hands, immediately getting to work. She stared at the inside of the fridge for several minutes before making her choice: omelettes.

For most people, this would not be something that they would make a surprise breakfast for anybody, since most people liked their omelettes custom-made. When it came to Blake and her parents, however, they had omelettes so often that not only did Blake have everyone's omelette orders memorized by heart, but they also kept some spare ingredients in the fridge _specifically_ for omelettes.

Kali was a fan of a classic Mediterranean omelette, filled with onions, garlic, spinach, and a bit of shredded swiss cheese. Ghira was a Denver omelette kind of guy, loving the combination of ham, bacon, onions, and red _and_ green peppers. Blake, on the other hand, _loved_ Alaskan omelettes, but knew she didn't have nearly enough time to cook salmon before her parents were up. Instead, she would go for a mixture between the two, deciding it would be best to just use the ingredients she had pulled out for her parents' omelettes for hers as well.

The last item she pulled from the fridge was a carton of eggs. Their habits of eating omelettes multiple times a week led to them always having a surplus of eggs, much to Blake's relief. She'd always dreamed that one day, she'd live in a house instead of an apartment, and have a chicken to lay eggs for her.

As soon as Blake began cooking, her mind was filled with fantasies about her house. The quaint little house with plenty of room for all of the cats she could, a backyard for her chicken and a small garden, the study filled with bookshelves of all of her favorite novels, the usual daydreams. This time, however, she wasn't alone in the house.

This time, her little dream house had a certain blonde there with her.

* * *

"I thought I smelled something delightful," Kali said as she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning," Blake replied, pushing the last of the omelettes onto a plate. "You're just in time. Is Dad awake yet?"

"Yes, he'll be out here soon."

Blake nodded, putting the pan in the sink. "The omelettes are all done and ready."

"What'd you make?" Kali asked, peering over Blake's shoulder at the plates.

"Denver for Dad, Mediterranean for you, and a mix of the two for me," Blake explained, picking up two of the plates and moving them to the table.

"Delicious! They look incredible," Kali said, picking up the third plate and helping Blake get the silverware and finish setting the table.

"Are those omelettes I smell?"

Blake looked up from the table to see her father entering the room, sniffing the air. His eyes landed on the plates on the table, a smile forming on his lips.

"Yes, yes it is." Blake returned to the kitchen, grabbing three glasses and a jug of orange juice from the fridge. She placed the final items on the table before sitting down.

"Everything go okay last night?" Kali asked, cutting into her omelette.

Blake nodded. "I went over to watch a movie and we ended up falling asleep on the couch. We didn't wake up until her sister and uncle got home past midnight, so I just decided to stay over instead of driving home that late when I was already half asleep."

"Everything going okay with her family?" Ghira asked.

"Yeah! Things are going great, actually. Her uncle got offered a job at a boarding school just outside of Vale."

Kali's mouth dropped open. "Wow, really? Teaching?"

"Yeah, language I think. I don't know which one though. Yang once told me he speaks like, six different languages fluently. I don't know what else he would be qualified to teach, but then again, he's a bit of a walking mystery when it comes to his last job."

"That's impressive." Ghira picked up another piece of his omelette with his fork. "Did he say when he starts?"

"Monday," Blake answered. "They're probably going to go apartment hunting next weekend."

"They might be able to get in a new place before Christmas, at that rate," Kali commented.

Blake nodded again, finishing her current bite of her omelette and swallowing before saying, "That'll be good for all of them."

* * *

A few hours after breakfast, Blake found herself walking into Scholar's Coffee Shop. Her eyes darted around counter area quickly, searching for the familiar mane of blonde hair.

Blake's mouth twitched into a smile when her eyes finally landed on Yang, looking exhausted while she made drinks. She stepped up to the counter, placing her order with the cashier, before purposefully walking past Yang.

Lilac eyes lit up when Blake passed in front of her, a smile forming on her face.

"Did you get the usual?" Yang asked over the counter.

Blake responded with a nod and a smile before going to her usual table to wait for her name to be called. She spent the time scrolling through the news on her scroll, mindlessly reading headlines, and looking up occasionally to catch glimpses of Yang working.

"Blake!"

Her eyes shot up at the sound of her name being called. She stood up, approaching the counter, where Yang was smiling with Blake's drink in her hand.

"I go on break in 20," Yang told her as she handed over her latte.

Blake smiled back at her. "Great, I'll see you then!"

The moment she got back to her seat, she pulled the top off her latte. It had seemingly become tradition every time she came to Scholar's to find a cute cat on the top of her latte in latte art. Today's cat had hearts for eyes, bringing a huge smile to Blake's face.

She snapped a picture of the cat on her scroll before looking back up towards the counter to see a smiling Yang looking back at her.

If she didn't know any better, Blake would have thought that Yang was making the _same_ exact heart eyes back at her.

* * *

 **AN** : I'll be honest, I'm not super happy with this chapter. I might go back to this and rewrite this one once I've finished the story, or I may just leave it as is. Who knows. I definitely wanted to put it up today though, instead of not uploading for two days in a row, and I needed the rest of tonight to do some studying instead of just writing and rewriting the same chapter over and over. Three chapters left, folks!

If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	17. Chapter 17

For the first time in a very long time, Yang Xiao Long could solidly say that life was _good_.

Her manager at Scholar's had taken the news well, and was happy for Yang and her family, even though she was losing one of her best employees. Yang watched the _Now Hiring!_ sign go up in the window above the _Faunus Welcome_ sign on the shift after she had told her manager. She wished she could claim it was a bittersweet feeling- Scholar's had always treated her extremely well, especially given her circumstances, but the idea of returning to trade school, not working for minimum wage anymore, and living in a place that didn't look like the den of broke college students was far more enticing than the job at Scholar's had ever been.

She had not yet told her manager at Downtown Diner about the upcoming changes. She figured she would not inform them until she was ready to put in her two weeks- when she had heard back from the trade school. She had reapplied to her old trade school, and was waiting to hear back on if she could return for the spring semester.

Ruby was approaching the end of the semester. Although she was busier, and coming back later than usual, she seemed happier than Yang had seen her since the accident. She had tests or projects practically every day, and was constantly rambling to herself, Yang, Qrow, or Mezzaluna, about whatever topic she needed to be focusing on at the moment.

Qrow, well, Qrow was doing _amazing_. He had taken to his new job straight away. As it turned out, not only did they want him to teach languages at the school, they also wanted him to help restructure the foreign language program, which meant an even _bigger_ paycheck. He spent all of his spare time bouncing between online real estate hunting and doing research on other foreign language programs.

On one particular day, Yang returned home from work to find both Qrow _and_ Ruby sprawled out in the common areas of the apartment, with Qrow's work all over the futon, and Ruby's work all over the kitchen table. Neither of them had even looked up from their intensely focused work when they entered, leaving Yang to take a picture at the wild sight and laugh about it later.

After what felt like both one of the best and one of the longest weeks of her life, Yang awoke on Saturday morning with a burning excitement in her chest. She'd managed to get the day off, having traded her usual shift with the waitress who was so awfully late last week, and was going apartment hunting with her family before an _actually_ planned date with Blake that night. It was their first proper date since their very first one, not one crammed into Yang's fifteen minute lunch breaks, or a so-called "date" that was mostly just Yang having a breakdown or falling asleep instantly.

Yang sprung out of bed with a flow of energy she was pretty sure she'd _never_ had, getting dressed and heading out to the common space faster than she ever had.

Qrow was awake, sitting at the kitchen table and sipping at coffee. "You're awful chipper this morning," he commented, flipping a page in the newspaper.

"We all have good reason to be," Yang replied, sifting through the kitchen. She pulled cereal from the cabinet, preparing herself some breakfast.

"That we do." Qrow folded the newspaper and placed it down at the table. "The realtor is going to pick us up in an hour. Think your sister will be up and ready by then?"

" _Hey_!"

Both Yang and Qrow turned towards the other end of the common space, near the "hall" that led to the bedrooms. A smirk crossed onto Qrow's face at the sight of his younger niece _pouting_ outside of her door.

"I'm already ready! I can get up on time!"

"Sure, squirt," Qrow teased, taking another sip of his coffee as Ruby sulked towards the kitchen. "I seem to recall you sprinting out the door for your classes yesterday."

"I was up late working on a project! I went to bed early last night!" Ruby insisted, pouring herself a bowl of cereal and bringing it over to the table… which still only had two chairs.

"Here," Qrow said, standing up with his coffee in one hand and his newspaper tucked under the other. "Sit and eat."

Ruby smiled, taking the seat. "Thank, Uncle Qrow."

"Having a table with more than two chairs is going to be _great_ ," Yang said, picking up another bite of her cereal with her spoon.

"You're telling me," Qrow replied, taking another sip of his coffee. "No offense, but that futon is _shit_."

Ruby let out a little laugh. "We're well aware. We got it for twenty lien off some graduating student who had it for at _least_ four years before us."

Yang shuddered. "I don't want to even _think_ about what types of things happened on that futon."

"Don't even go there," Qrow said, shaking his head. "Enough about this shithole-"

"Language!" Ruby cried out.

He let out a small smile. "Sorry, squirt. Enough about this… poophole-"

" _Uncle Qrow!_ "

He ignored her this time. "I got a message from the realtor this morning. She's taking us to look at three apartments in the Downtown District, and three condos and three houses for rent in the Residential District."

" _Houses_?" Yang asked nervously. "Are we sure we can afford that?"

Qrow nodded. "I have more than enough saved up for a deposit, and with my new job… well, we won't have to worry about money for a _long_ time, as long as we're smart about it."

Yang didn't respond at first, looking down into her cereal.

"Yang," Qrow said, walking over and placing a hand on her shoulder, "don't worry about the money today, okay? Everything the realtor picked out is within our budget."

"What's the budget?" she asked.

Qrow shook his head again. "Don't worry about it."

Yang let out a long sigh, putting down her spoon. "I know you don't want me to worry about it, but I can't just turn that switch off, okay? It's been _years_ since that wasn't a constant worry in my life."

" _Oh_ ," Qrow replied softly. "I hadn't thought of it like that."

"I'm trying, but I still need you to just keep me in the loop on things for a while. I just…"

"Hey," Qrow cut her off, squeezing her shoulder, "it's okay. Finish your breakfast and then we'll go over the numbers before the realtor gets here, okay?"

Yang looked up at him with a smile. "Thanks, Uncle Qrow."

"Anytime, firecracker."

* * *

"Well," Qrow began, collapsing onto the futon, "that was an _adventure_."

Yang laughed as she took a spot next to him. "That's one way to put it."

"I don't know what you two are talking about! I had a _great_ time! All of those places were _sooooo_ cool!" Ruby was still bouncing up and down, unable to control her energy. "Which ones did you like best? I loved the condo with the big pool! Ooh, and the apartment right in the middle of the Downtown District, and the other apartment, and the other one… and all the houses! _Oh my Oum!_ "

"Calm down, Rubes," Yang replied with another laugh, sticking out her leg and causing Ruby to stumble over it. "I'm pretty sure _all_ of the condos we looked at had big pools."

"Well, yeah!" Ruby opted for sitting on the floor and bouncing in her spot instead. "They were _all_ great!"

Yang shook her head, still smiling. "You can't pick all _nine_ places as your favorite."

"You didn't answer the question!" Ruby exclaimed, trying to divert the conversation. "Which ones were your favorite?"

"I enjoyed all the houses," Qrow replied. "I think I'm a bit too old for apartment life. The condos were nice too, but the idea of having a yard of our own sounds _pretty_ nice."

"I liked the houses too, even if the prices still scare me a little," Yang said with a shrug.

"Okay, so one of the houses!" Ruby declared, jumping up and snatching a folder from next to Qrow before quickly sitting back down. She shuffled through the folder, pulling out pictures of the three houses and laying them out in front of her. "Should we do pros and cons of each?"

"We're doing this right now?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ruby nodded. "Well, yeah! We don't have to make a final decision right now or anything, just something to think about for now. We can make a final choice tomorrow, if we aren't sure today."

"She has a point," Qrow replied, pushing himself off the futon and joining his youngest niece on the ground.

Yang sighed, pushing down and joining the circle on the floor. "Okay, so, out of the three, I liked this one the least." She pointed to the first house in the line, a smaller looking house painted the color green. "It's _way_ too small for its price. The other two were way bigger, and had cheaper rents too."

Qrow nodded in agreement. "I was going to say the same thing."

"Okay, so this one is out," Ruby replied, placing the green house back into the folder. The two houses left on the ground looked a bit similar, roughly the same sizes in their pictures with generally the same layout of the front of the house. One was painted dark blue, and was slightly larger than the other, which was white. "So, blue or white?"

"The white house was pretty nice, but I think the blue one has a better location. It's kind of close to both the Faunus District and the University District," Yang commented.

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "I gotta say, Yang, I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't consider that a _better_ location."

"Yeah, well, we aren't exactly _most people_."

"I kid, I kid." Qrow reached over, trying to ruffle her hair, only for her to shoot back up onto the futon.

" _No_."

Qrow smirked, putting his hand back down. "Okay, okay, back to the houses. Ruby, what do you think of these two?"

"I love them both!" Ruby replied instantly, glancing between the photos. "Honestly, I'd be fine with either of them. Whichever one you two like better!"

Qrow picked up the two photos, looking between them again. "Well, the blue one _did_ have a slightly bigger yard…"

Yang beamed. "So, we're good for the blue house then?"

"I think so," Qrow replied with a nod. "We'll talk about it again tomorrow just to be sure, and call the realtor on Monday when she's back in the office. Sound good to you two?"

Yang and Ruby nodded together, earning them both a smile from Qrow.

"I gotta go get ready for my date," Yang said, standing up from the futon. "I still have to shower and do my hair and everything."

"We'll be here, waiting to hear _all_ about it!" Ruby called after Yang, who had headed towards her bedroom.

"Maybe not _all_ about it," Qrow commented, pushing himself back up onto the futon. "I really don't want to hear about you having s-"

Yang poked her head out of her room with a quick yell, cutting him off. " _UNCLE QROW!_ "

* * *

Blake was in the kitchen in her family's apartment, leaning on the counter and staring out the window. Yang was supposed to be coming any minute now to pick her up for their date- the first date in which Blake would be riding on the back of Yang's bike. It felt special to Blake, even more special than having slept in each other's beds. The way Yang talked about her bike, it was like it was her baby.

Well, it kind of _was_ her baby. It had once been nothing more than a dying bike held together by scraps when Yang had gotten it for her 16th birthday. The fact that it ran at all, let alone so smoothly, was a true testament to Yang's workmanship and her natural talent with all things mechanical. Apparently, only Ruby had been the only person ever allowed to ride passenger on it. Until today, that is. Blake certainly felt honored.

"Someone's anxious about their date," Kali said as she entered the kitchen, pulling the filtered water jug from the fridge.

"Not anxious, nervous," Blake corrected, not pulling her eyes from the window.

"Why so nervous then?" Kali pulled a cup from the cabinet, pouring herself a glass of water.

"We're going on her motorcycle."

Kali raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Nervous about a motorcycle?"

"Not just any motorcycle… her motorcycle. It's like, her first born child," Blake replied flatly, her eyes still trained on the window.

"And that's the only reason why you're nervous?"

Blake bit her lip, thinking before she spoke. "She's a good driver, a great driver, extra cautious all things considered."

" _But_?"

"But her spare helmet is designed for Ruby," Blake finally admitted, her eyes lowering to look at the ground, her ears flattening on top of her head. "I don't think she thought about my ears…"

Kali glanced out the window, a small smile forming on her lips. "Why don't you go just talk to her about it? She's here."

Blake shot up, her eyes and ears perking up in a swift movement. Kali had spoken the truth. Yang had just pulled into the lot, and was parking in a space just in front of the apartment lobby.

"Bye Mom!" Blake called over her shoulder, out the door in a heartbeat.

"Have fun!" Kali replied, shaking her head with a smile before taking another sip of her water. She turned her eyes back towards the window, watching Yang, who was standing next to her bike, waiting for Blake to come outside. "Ah, young love…"

* * *

Yang looked up from her scroll, just having sent her _Here_ message to Blake, only to find that Blake was already barreling out the door to the lobby.

"Hey," Yang said with a cool smile.

"Hi," Blake replied, realizing she was completely out of breath. She stopped just in front of Yang, taking a moment to catch her breath and trying to straighten out her clothes.

"Someone's excited." Yang pulled her backpack off her back, putting it on the seat of her bike, next to her own helmet.

"I… missed you," Blake admitted sheepishly.

Yang stepped forward, catching Blake in a soft kiss. When she pulled away, she smiled softly at Blake, running her thumb across Blake's cheek. "I missed you too."

"How is your right hand so warm all the time?" Blake asked, cupping Yang's right hand that was still on her cheek.

"It is?"

"Yeah. Always just a little warmer than your left hand."

Yang blinked twice at the question. She released Blake's cheek, feeling her right hand with her left. "I guess it is. I never really noticed. I'll have to ask Ruby about it later."

"Ruby?"

"She's reading up on my arm. Penny sent us a new computer chip for it, and Ruby's doing a ton of research before she tries to install it. Temperature is supposed to be a new feature with the chip- so I know she's been doing some reading on that part."

"Ah, I see," Blake replied, glancing at the bike behind Yang. "So, your bike?"

Yang's eyes grew wide, her smile growing even wider. "I have a surprise for you." She spun on her heel, grabbing her backpack.

"Oh?"

Yang unzipped the backpack, pulling out a helmet. Blake immediately knew it wasn't Ruby's bright red helmet. This was different- sleek, matte black, and tinted with a slight purple shine. It was beautiful, a true piece of art, but Blake wasn't necessarily focusing on that.

She was focusing on the two purple triangles at the top of the helmet. Perfectly spaced for her ears.

"I got it custom made. I had to contact your mom for the exact measurements, since I wanted it to be a surprise, and it took a bit longer than expected, which is why it's taken me so long to offer you a ride on my bike, and-"

Yang was cut off by Blake's lips colliding with hers, Blake pulling her closer, tangling her hands in Yang's hair. It took her a moment to break her shock, but she wrapped her arms behind Blake, dropping the empty backpack but still holding the helmet behind Blake's back. They stayed that way, wrapped in the most passionate kiss either of them had ever had.

Blake pulled back, gasping for air. "Yang," she muttered, "Yang, I love you."

There was a moment of silence as Blake's heart skipped a beat. She'd actually just said that out loud. Over a _helmet_. And Yang wasn't responding, for what felt like years.

It was only a second.

"I love you too," Yang replied, bringing up her free hand to Blake's cheek, bringing her in for another kiss.

* * *

Kali smiled to herself, finally walking away from the window. Sienna trotted at her heels, chirping in an attempt to get attention.

Kali placed her cup down and crouched down onto the floor, running her hand along Sienna's back and taking extra care to scratch between her ears. The purring started instantly, coming from Sienna as Kali spoke to her.

"I have a feeling, my little queen, that it won't be long before we have a spare room in this apartment."


	18. Chapter 18

Things were moving at a very fast pace, but no one was particularly complaining.

Qrow, Ruby, and Yang all returned to the realtor's office the Monday after they had gone to tour homes. They were able to sign a lease for the house that they had picked out that same day, and were told by their new landlord they could start moving in on Friday.

It was a _super_ fast turnaround, way faster than any of them could have ever imagined, but they were trying to go with it and keep up for as long as they could. They were technically still paying rent until the end of the month in their old apartment, but no one was particularly worried about losing that money anymore. They spent the week packing, looking at furniture online, and, in Yang's case, making sure she could get the whole weekend off so she could move. She was down to only working at the diner now, so it hadn't been _too_ difficult, but it did end up being a week-long task.

When Friday morning finally rolled around, everyone was up bright and early. The Belladonnas arrived only an hour after Yang, Ruby, and Qrow had gotten up, armed with coffee and donuts for breakfast. Once they had all inhaled their food and downed their drinks, everyone set off to work on getting things moved.

Most of their furniture ended up on the curb- the futon, table and chairs, and crappy TV stand would be gone by the evening from whoever stopped to take them. The landlord had bought the old dorm furniture they used in the bedrooms from the girls, hoping that it would make the place a bit more marketable to new tenants.

Most of the belongings that got packed up into the Belladonnas' van were smaller items- clothing, photo albums, cups, plates, small kitchen appliances, cat supplies, and the decor that had once filled Ruby's bedroom, which had easily been the most decorated room in the apartment. The largest thing they were bringing with them to the new house was the TV, which wasn't even all _that_ big to begin with.

Moving their belongings over to the new house was the easy part, which only took the morning on Friday. The rest of their weekend would be spent going between the house and furniture stores, bringing new furniture into their house, setting it up, and slowly unpacking the smaller items as the furniture that they could be stored in came in.

They had a list of items in mind- things that had to be bought in a certain order. Beds came first, both frames and mattresses. Those took up the bulk of the afternoon, as putting the frames together and moving the mattresses in took far longer than they had expected. They only had enough time to pick up some other bedroom furniture, like bedside tables and dressers, before the sun began to go down and they decided to call it quits for the day.

The combined families sat around in the empty kitchen, some on the floor, and the three younger girls sitting on the countertops. Ruby rested her head against a cabinet, leaning back gently. Yang rested her head on Blake's shoulder, the pair holding hands as they sat next to each other.

Qrow hung up his scroll with a smile, pushing it back into his pocket. "The pizza will be here in twenty."

"Oum, it is _so_ nice to be on the other end of a pizza call for once," Yang said with a laugh. "Never again."

"That's right," Blake replied, squeezing her hand softly. "Never again."

"Thanks again for helping us today," Qrow said, looking over at the Kali and Ghira, the former resting in the arms of the latter. "And tomorrow too," he added a moment later.

Ghira smiled. "It's not a problem. We're more than happy to help."

"I'm very glad to see the three of you out of that tiny apartment," Kali added, leaning further back into her husband's arms. "Blake said it was small, but I didn't realize the entire thing was pretty much the size of our living room."

Qrow's face fell at Kali's statement. Between the look on Qrow's face, and the glare Blake shot her, Kali immediately knew she had said the wrong thing, but before she could move to apologize, Ruby cut her off.

"It served its purpose," Ruby said with a shrug. "We're moving on up though, together."

Yang nodded. "Yeah. Together. That's all that matters."

Qrow looked at his nieces. "Together," he repeated, allowing a small smile to form on his lips.

* * *

The following day was just as, if not more, exhausting than the first. Ghira and Blake arrived at the new house bright and early. They came supplied with coffee and donuts again, much to everyone's excitement.

"Where's your mom?" Yang asked, as she helped Blake set up the coffee and donuts on the countertop.

"She'll be back later, around noon, probably. She said she had something she had to get done this morning, but she didn't give a lot of details," Blake answered with a shrug.

"We'll probably still be at the furniture store around then," Qrow sighed, pouring himself a cup of coffee from the communal box the Belladonnas had bought from the donut shop. "If we buy all the furniture in one go, we can get them to deliver it here so we don't have to make a thousand trips back and forth in the van."

Ghira let out a low laugh. "Now that's music to my ears." He paused for a moment, before clarifying, "Not that I wouldn't want to help with the van, it'll just be a _lot_ faster."

Qrow nodded. "It might turn Saturday- _and_ -Sunday project into just a Saturday- _only_ project. I getcha, Ghira."

"Don't you mean, I _Ghir-cha_?" Yang wiggled her eyebrows, smiling wide at her own pun.

There was a collective groan at Yang's pun.

Ruby shook her head, picking up a donut. "I'm going to wait outside, _away_ from the puns."

"Good thinking, Rubes." Qrow picked up his cup of coffee and grabbed a donut before heading out after his niece.

Ghira laughed only once Qrow had followed Ruby out of the house. "I knew I liked you for a reason, Yang."

"Oh no," Blake gasped, her eyes widening. "Don't encourage his dad jokes!"

Yang's smile grew five times in size. "Oh, _really_? You're a connoisseur of dad jokes too?"

"I do believe you mean _cat-isseur_ ," Ghira corrected.

Yang was howling in laughter, barely able to hold herself up on the counter to stop herself from literally rolling on the floor.

"I'm _doomed_ ," Blake sighed, shaking her head.

"You love me," Yang quipped back between giggles.

"Hmm. Maybe."

" _Blakeee_ ," Yang whined, barely noticing Ghira slip out of the room, wanting to give the two girls a private moment.

Blake sighed. " _Finee_ , I guess I love you."

"You _guess_?" Yang leaned forward, giving Blake a peck on the cheek.

Blake turned toward Yang, wrapping her arm around Yang's lower back and pulling her close. They became locked in a kiss, only pulling away long enough for Blake to whisper, "I _know_ I love you."

"I love you too," Yang whispered back, bringing Blake back into another kiss.

"Come on, lovebirds," Qrow called from the doorway, causing the girls to jump and quickly pull away. "We've got shopping to do! You two can christen the house later, when _no one_ else is home."

" _Uncle Qrow!_ "

* * *

Six hours later, the group returned back to the house, awaiting the arrival of both Kali and the delivery truck with the rest of their furniture. They'd managed to get everything at the same shop, making for a _very_ happy salesperson who had secured such a huge sale that day.

They'd found the rest of the furniture for their bedrooms, including a desk for Ruby and a vanity for Yang, the dining room, kitchen, and living room furniture, as well as a complete set of rather fancy looking furniture for Qrow's study, _and_ even some patio furniture for the backyard.

"Just got a text from Kali," Ghira announced to the group that sat on the front porch, waiting. "She says things got a little more complicated than she'd expected, and she's going to be a couple hours late. She's super sorry, but says it'll be worth it."

Qrow raised an eyebrow at the last part of the statement. "It'll be worth it?"

Ghira shook his head. "I'm sworn to secrecy."

Yang shot Blake a glance, who only shrugged. "Whatever they were planning, they didn't tell me."

"Because you can't keep a secret from Yang," Ghira chimed in with a chuckle.

"Okay, well…" Blake's face lit up bright red. "Yeah, you got me there."

The group let out a short laugh, even Blake, before Qrow waved his hand in the air.

"Tell Kali not to worry about it. Between the five of us, plus the delivery guys, we got this under control."

Ghira nodded, shooting a response back to his wife before slipping his scroll back into his pocket.

"Speak of the devils, and they shall appear," Yang said, standing up as she saw a large box truck coming down the street with the words _Arc Family Furniture_ painted on the side. "You all ready to make this house a home?"

Her question garnered a collection of nods from the group, and a _very_ enthusiastic " _Hell yeah!_ " from Ruby, causing everyone to burst out laughing yet again.

Yang shook her head with a smile as she watched Ruby bounce down the steps and towards the driveway, where the truck was backing in. "Never change, Rubes. Never change."

* * *

By four in the afternoon, the group had finally finished setting up all of the furniture. To everyone's surprise, only a few things had to be put together, and Ghira was some sort of extreme handyman, so he'd been able to do it in record time with only help holding things up on occasion. Most of the furniture had been moved in by the delivery guys, and rearranged a few times by Yang, Qrow, and Ghira once everything had been put into their respective rooms and the delivery guys had left. The only thing left to do were some minor decorations, which they decided they would hold off of until tomorrow, when they wouldn't need the Belladonnas' help anymore.

The group collapsed in the living room, on the brand new couches and chairs, as Qrow passed around water bottles. He finally took the last seat as they all chugged, taking a long swig from his own water bottle. Mezzaluna trotted around on the couches, in-between the laps of various people, happy to finally be let out of the bathroom now that all the moving had been completed.

"Is everyone okay with pizza again? I hate to two nights in a row, but I _really_ don't have the energy to cook tonight… Nor any food to cook _with_ …" Qrow trailed off, thinking about the empty fridge in the other room.

"Fine with me," Ruby replied, letting out a yawn. "I don't have the energy for much else either."

"Actually," Ghira said, looking up from his scroll, "Kali just got here, and her surprise is ready."

Yang and Blake exchanged looks, neither making a move to get up off the couch and let her in.

"Tell her the door's unlocked, and we're too tired to move," Qrow replied, taking another long drink from his water bottle.

Ghira stood up, shaking his head. "No worries, you all relax. I'll help her bring it all in."

Yang and Blake shared _another_ look.

Blake gave a small shrug as she watched her father head out the front door. "I seriously have _no_ clue."

Ruby sniffed the air for a moment. "What's that smell?"

Qrow tilted his head back, sniffing into the air. "Whatever it is, it smells _good_."

Blake's eyes grew wide as she took in the smell. " _Oh_ , I know what they did now."

Yang shot another look at her girlfriend. "What do you mean?"

At that moment, the door burst back open, Kali and Ghira entering the house with thermal bags in hand.

"Surprise!" Kali exclaimed, a wide smile on her face. "Sorry it took so long. I wanted to make sure you all had a home-cooked meal for your first night, and I ended up getting a _bit_ carried away."

"Kali, this is enough food to feed a small army. I think you got more than just a _bit_ carried away," Ghira said with a laugh. "I'm going to put this all down in the kitchen, if that's alright."

Yang leapt up from her seat, nodding with wide eyes. " _Absolutely_." She turned to her sister and uncle, who were still sitting on the couch in shock. "Kali's cooking is _incredible_. You aren't going to want to miss this."

"She's right," Blake added, getting up from her spot. "There's nothing quite like homemade Menagerian dishes."

Ruby didn't need to be told twice. She followed them to the kitchen, her nose still twitching at the smell of the food. Qrow wasn't far behind, his exhausted limbs gaining extra drive from the smell of the warm food in the kitchen.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they all sat around the table, which was covered in tupperware filed to the brim with the multi-course meal that Kali had spent the entire day preparing. They still had their various mismatched plates and silverware from their old apartment, but Kali had packed paper plates and plastic silverware so they wouldn't have to worry about any dishes.

The Belladonnas had _tried_ to leave the house, and allow the family to have their first real meal in their new house together, but Qrow had _insisted_ they stay. There was no way the three of them were going to be able to finish all this food anyways, and he was able to correctly guess that Kali had only made food for them today, and probably didn't want to cook anymore tonight. When she admitted that he was correct, he finally won them over in convincing them to stay and eat with them.

"Yang wasn't kidding," Ruby said after swallowing another bite of food. "This is _amazing_."

"Why thank you," Kali replied, a smile on her face. "I can give you all some recipes, if you'd like."

Qrow nodded. "That'd be great. I doubt I'd be able to make it nearly as well though. I'm not exactly much of a cook. Tai usually did most of the cooking."

"Me neither, unless it's a hot drink. I could make those in my _sleep_." Yang let out a small laugh. "I think I _did_ actually make them in my sleep some days."

"I can vouch for her lattes. I don't think I saw much other than Ramen or food from the diner in the old apartment though," Blake admitted.

Ruby raised her hand shyly. "The ramen was mostly mine. Yang usually just ate easy mac. We made a lot of pancakes too, but that was usually the just-add-water batter."

"Oh dear, well, I can certainly give some cooking lessons to the three of you." Kali shook her head, giving a small smile. "We can start out with some easier stuff, and work up to something as complicated as this." She gestured to the meal surrounding them.

"That'd be great," Qrow said with a smile.

Yang leaned back in her chair, glancing around the room. Kali had moved the conversation to Ruby and her schoolwork. Ruby was rambling away about her projects for the semester, and her research into the chip that Penny had sent to Yang. She was only a few weeks away from being ready to install it, if she didn't hit any more bumps in the road. Yang's eyes shifted over to Qrow and Ghira, who were having an animated conversation about Qrow's new job, and the wild personalities of all of his students. Ghira was comparing them to the many cats they had in the rescue, much to Qrow's amusement.

Lastly, Yang looked over at Blake. She caught her eyes, realized that Blake had been staring at her, and then smiled.

Sure, life had been moving _extremely_ fast in the last week, but damn, if she had told herself a month and a half ago that she'd be this happy _this_ soon, she wouldn't have believed it.

Yet, she _was_ just that happy.

She was more than okay with that.

* * *

 **AN** : Wow folks! We're almost at the end here!

Sorry for the delay in chapters. I've had a crazy busy week and I wanted to make sure I could do the last two chapters justice. Plus, writing endings is _really_ hard for me. I just don't want it to end! Alas, I _will_ be ending this story, and not going into indefinite hiatus. The next chapter is the Epilogue, and will be shorter than most of the other chapters in the story thus far. I will hopefully have it up _very_ soon. Within the next day or two!

I don't really want to do an author's note at the very end of the story, so consider this to be the final AN of Two For One. First of all, thank you all so much for your support in this story. I had no clue it would blow up the way it did, both with audience interaction, and with how much I would end up falling in love with this story. I'd love to come back to the setting of this city sometime, because I really do love this AU version of Vale. I even have a map drawn and everything! I probably wouldn't use the same characters, so like, different versions of Yang and Blake, but in the same city, if that makes sense. An AU of an AU, if you will. However, if that does ever come, it's not going to be for a while.

I have plotted out the majority of my next fic, as well as picked out a name. The next fic I will be publishing is " ** _t_** _ **here's no time like the** **present** ". _It's a bit of a deviation from my typical writing style, and it will be a primarily angsty fic, but it'll definitely be a good one! Once tntltp is done, I will be returning to Beecon University and at least publishing _some_ new chapters, if not finishing that fic in full. We'll see! But I do promise that there will be more BU content after tntltp. I don't know what the plans are after that, but we'll see as things go along.

Again, thank you all for your support for Two For One. I'm so happy to have been able to have you all join me on this journey and see your reactions to every chapter. I'll see you all in the final chapter, and in the next fic!

If you'd like updates on this work, as well as others, you can follow me on tumblr at SuperbBirbFics , or my main for spicy rwby memes and other various content at PancakesWithKetchup . And, if you'd like to help support me and my writing more, you can buy me a ko-fi ! My username there, as with most places (except for tumblr, because the url is taken rip) is SuperbBirb ! Thank you all so much for your continued support in my works, I endlessly appreciate it and love you all!


	19. Chapter 19: Epilogue

Two Years Later

Yang Xiao Long had to admit, despite everything she'd ever been through, she really _did_ like driving. At least, she _really_ liked driving Bumblebee. Her trusty motorcycle didn't give her the same occasional fears that resurfaced when she was in a car, even if, logically, it was _far_ more dangerous to ride Bumblebee. Yet, unless she needed to bring more than one person, or items too large for her backpack, somewhere, she still drove Bumblebee everywhere, including to and from work.

Most people would have _hated_ Yang's commute. Even though she left work at Valkyrie's Auto Repair at four in the afternoon on most days, she usually didn't make it home until after five. A straight drive through half the city of Vale, during the busiest time of the day, would have made most people crazy, insist on moving closer to their workplace or finding a new job, but Yang wasn't exactly _most people_. She didn't mind it one bit.

The shop was in the Downtown District, just a few streets over from the diner that she'd worked at for several years. As soon as she'd gotten her acceptance back into trade school, she had quit, much to her relief. Several years of waitressing had filled her with a _very_ deep respect for any wait staff, ever, and had cemented her desire to _never_ work in food service _ever_ again.

The commute home brought her out of the Downtown District and into the Faunus District. It was the fastest route home, straight down Menagerie Avenue through to the Residential District. Sometimes, she took a detour into the University District if she wanted to drive for a bit longer, past her old apartment and the surrounding neighborhood. It was a good reminder of how far she'd come in the last two years.

Plus, it didn't help that seeing the _CONDEMNED_ sign in the window of University Pizza that popped up about six months back always brought a big smile to her face. The lawsuits started popping up in the paper not long after that. Checks withheld, illegal business practices, _and_ a massive fraud scheme.

Sometimes, justice was sweet. Other times, it was greasy, and way too cheap to be anything of any quality.

Yang didn't feel as out of place when she drove through the Faunus District as she did two years ago. Sure, her bike was still newer and flashier than most of the cars, and her bright yellow arm still gained her looks, but they weren't glares anymore, just the usual looks of curiosity and double takes she'd get anywhere else in the city. She'd receive waves and nods from some of the locals of the Faunus District. She'd been shopping there many times with Blake, and she'd made a positive reputation for herself in the area among the business owners and some of the regulars.

Well, that, _and_ Ghira would point her out to anyone near him as his future daughter-in-law, much to Blake's protests, and Yang's amusement. They weren't engaged _yet_ , but there was a pretty _big_ yet on that one. Both families just knew it was only a matter of time.

And, if Yang were asked in private, a matter of finding the _right_ ring.

It usually took Yang the majority of her commute to get through the Faunus District. The drive down Menagerie Avenue was fairly long, filled with traffic, and filled with plenty of stoplights. When she finally broke through to the Residential District, marked by houses with progressively bigger yards and far fewer storefronts, she finally made the first turn since she had begun her commute home.

The street had become home to Yang and her family. It was a quaint neighborhood, filled with rental homes that changed tenants regularly. It _was_ cheaper than most places in the Residential District, since it _was_ so close to the Faunus District. The cheap prices and rotating tenants led to an interesting cast of neighbors, but Yang couldn't _exactly_ claim that her family was the most typical either.

Between her uncle, a retired secret agent turned boarding school foreign language teacher, Ruby, the genius engineering student who was working to build her own Vale-based prosthetic company with the help of Penny and Penny's best college friend, the former heiress to Schnee Corp., Weiss Schnee, and Yang herself, a mechanic with a bright yellow robot arm and a loud, equally bright yellow motorcycle, they certainly hadn't been the most _typical_ family in the neighborhood.

Of course, things had changed _dramatically_ within their own family, even since they first came to the neighborhood two years ago.

Yang smiled at the blue house on the left side of the road. All the lights were off inside, and no cars were in the driveway. Ruby would only be getting out of work now, and Qrow usually stayed at the school until five or six most days, so he was rarely ever home before Ruby. She continued on down the road, past the place she had called home for a year and a half, before stopping at the smaller, yellow house just four houses down.

It was quaint, a cute little cottage-like house nestled between two average-sized houses. She pulled into the driveway, parking her bike. A small, black car was already in the driveway, bringing a smile to Yang's face.

She slipped off the bike, tugging her helmet off in one pull, a move she had mastered over the years. She shook out her hair, fluffing it up in the mirror on the handlebars to combat the helmet hair that always seemed to be ever so slightly present in her usual mane. Content with her work, she slipped her helmet under her arm and headed towards the front door of the house.

"I'm _home_ ," Yang called into the house after opening the door, hanging up her helmet and her jacket up in the closet. Two black cats came trotting up to the door, meowing excitedly. Yang crouched down on the ground, greeting them both with soft head scratches. "Hello Gambol, hello Shroud. Where's Mom?"

"In here!" Blake called from around the corner.

She turned the corner into the living room, finding her gorgeous girlfriend curled up on the couch with a laptop in her lap. Blake was staring up at her, a smile on her face at the sight of Yang.

"How was work?" Blake asked as Yang dipped down for a brief kiss.

"Good," Yang finally answered when she pulled away. "Nora's looking into new places to expand to. She likes the idea of changing it to VXL Auto Repair too."

"That's amazing!" Blake replied with a smile, pulling Yang back in for another kiss. "I'm so proud of you. You've earned it."

"Thank you," Yang replied, coming around the corner of the couch and taking a spot next to Blake. "How was your day?" she asked while Blake shut her laptop, placed it on the coffee table, and leaned into Yang's side.

"Good! I'm almost done with my latest chapter. I've only got four or five left before I've officially finished the first draft of my first novel."

"That's incredible! _You're_ incredible!" Yang leaned down, planting a kiss between Blake's cat ears. "Can I read it later?"

Blake nodded, blushing. "Later though. I wanna cuddle right now."

"Even though I smell like grease?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.

Blake rolled her eyes, snuggling in closer. "Oh, you _know_ I don't care if you smell like grease or not. I just want cuddles."

"Well, I can certainly provide those." Yang pulled Blake in closer, running her metal hand up and down Blake's back. "How about work at the rescue? How was that?"

"Really good! We got a new cat in today, this really sweet orange kitty that literally just strolled up to the door and meowed until we let her in. We already started putting up _Found Cat_ posters and reached out to vets and other shelters with her description, but no one's reported her missing or put up any _Lost Cat_ posters. She's too well fed to be a stray, but we think she was abandoned."

"Poor thing," Yang replied, continuing to idly trace up and down Blake's back. It was still an odd sensation sometimes, being able to feel the temperature with her right hand, despite Penny's chip being installed nearly two years ago. The readings only worked sometimes- she'd need a full new arm with new hardware in order to get it _all_ the time, but she was always pleasantly surprised when she could feel the warmth of Blake under her fingertips.

Blake nodded, looking up at Yang. "If no one claims her in two weeks, we'll put her up for foster availability. You'd get along with her well. She's got your fiery personality. You should come and meet her sometime."

Yang looked down, seeing the twinkle in Blake's eyes, and smiled. "You better be careful, or you'll become not only a cat faunus, but a cat lesbian too."

Blake rolled her eyes, nestling back into Yang's chest. "As if I wasn't already."

Yang let out a long laugh, causing Blake's entire body to shake on top of her. "Yeah, you got me there. Sure, I can go meet her sometime soon. Maybe a new sibling for Gambol and Shroud."

Blake looked back up, a huge smile on her face. "Yay!" She paused for a moment, before speaking again. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. My mom invited us to a family dinner this weekend, with Qrow and Ruby too. I already texted them about it, they'll be there."

"Which night?"

"Saturday."

Yang nodded. "Sounds good. At your parents' place?"

"Yep. I don't think Qrow's ready to try and host again yet."

Yang let out another laugh at the memory. "He would have been fine if he'd gone with something a bit simpler."

"My mom _tried_ to teach him," Blake replied with a laugh.

"She can try all she wants, but after two years of lessons, I _really_ don't think he's going to get any better."

"Yeah, well, he had to _actually_ start trying again after you moved out and Ruby got busy with her work, so he didn't really get two years of experience in."

"I suppose you're right. He was able to get away with me being the main cook for a year and a half."

"I sure am glad _you_ paid attention during her lessons," Blake said with a smirk. "I don't know if I could handle your cooking if she hadn't helped you out."

Yang smiled. "Yeah, well, I _had_ to learn how to make all your favorite dishes. Kali made sure of it. She wasn't exactly subtle about it either."

Blake burst out laughing. "I don't think my mother has been subtle a single day in her life."

"Yeah, that sounds like Kali," Yang replied with a small laugh of her own. She paused for a moment, looking down at the girl in her arms.

 _How did I get so lucky?_

Blake looked up, catching Yang staring. "Whatcha thinking about?" she asked, twirling the end of Yang's hair in her finger, a small smile on her lips.

"You know," Yang began, smiling down at Blake, "when I showed up at the rescue two years ago, I planned on going in and getting a cat. I didn't know I'd get such a good deal."

"What deal was that, exactly?"

"Two for one."


End file.
